YESTERDAY AFTERNOON 25-year-old Vinny Ryan, younger brother of murdered dissident republican Alan Ryan, was gunned down as he sat in his car in Finglas, Dublin.
He was shot multiple times in the head and upper body and later died in the Mater Hospital.
This was the second attempt on Ryan’s life in the space of three months. In October last year, he was attacked with a knife on Parnell Street while he was with his pregnant girlfriend. He sustained a neck wound but was not seriously injured.
Though his murder yesterday comes just a few short weeks after a brazen shooting at a hotel in north Dublin and a retaliation attack in North Strand, it is not thought to be connected to that heated feud between the Kinahan and Hutch families.
Who are the Ryans?
Back in 2012, 31-year-old Alan Ryan was shot dead in Clongriffin. He was well-known to gardaí after taking part in a Real IRA training camp in Meath in 2001 and being convicted for possession of firearms.
It was suspected that his murder, which like his younger brother’s, took place in broad daylight, was organised by people known to mob boss ‘Mr Big’.
The feud between Real IRA members and this criminal grouping in the Coolock area was sparked by dissidents extorting money out of drug gangs across the city. A number of criminals were taken out by RIRA for refusing to pay up.
However, nothing is clear cut.
A group which refers to itself as the Criminal Action Force has also taken responsibility for the killings of a number of RIRA members in recent years – including Alan Ryan’s murder.
The RIRA leader’s funeral in 2012 was somewhat of an exhibition with balaclava-clad men and women wearing paramilitary-style uniforms accompanying the hearse.
One year on, a significant garda presence was also required for an anniversary march through north Dublin.
Again, the parade was attended by men and women in full RIRA garb, this time including custom-made ties and matching sunglasses.
For his part, Vinny Ryan was linked to the murder of Michael ‘Micka’ Kelly in 2011 and he is believed to have been a target of Mr Big’s gang for some time.
Links to the Kinahan-Hutch feud
Though this shooting comes soon after the murders of David Byrne of the Kinahan gang and Eddie Hutch – brother of Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch – it is a separate tit-for-tat feud and not believed to be linked to those killings.
A massive garda operation has been taking place all across Dublin city, and particularly in north Dublin, since those two murders. The Kinahan drug cartel was targeted in retaliation for the murder of The Monk’s nephew Gary Hutch in Spain last year.
Byrne, an associate of Kinahans, was shot dead at the Regency Hotel last month and two other men were injured. In a revenge attack, gunmen burst into the home of Eddie Hutch in North Strand just days later and shot him dead.
Gardaí are still anticipating further shootings in this feud but after yesterday, they now have two gangland battles in Dublin to contend with.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say