GARDAÍ CONTINUE TO hold five men in connection with the shooting dead of a man outside a pub in broad daylight in Gormanston, Co Meath yesterday.
Peter Butterly, 35, was shot dead outside The Huntsman Inn pub at Gormanston at around 2pm yesterday afternoon. A post mortem is due later today.
Details of the shooting emerged yesterday with Butterly said to have driven into the car park followed a few minutes later by a second car. Butterly was then confronted by the occupants of the second car as he walked across the cark park and was shot a number of times.
The assailants then fled the scene in a car which turned left as it exited the car park.
This car was intercepted a short time later and four males, all in their 20s, were arrested by gardaí. A handgun was recovered and the car was seized.
A fifth man, aged in his 40s, was arrested near the scene a short time later.
Investigating gardaí believe the attack is linked to an internal feud among dissident Republicans.
Butterly, a father-of-three from Dunleer in Co Louth, was charged with membership of an illegal organisation in 2010.
However his trial at the Special Criminal Court collapsed as a result of a Supreme Court ruling which said that the section of the Offences Against the State Act under which he was arrested was unconstitutional.
Having established an incident room at Laytown Garda Station, gardaí say they are appealing for witnesses to the incident to contact them.
They are particularly interested in speaking to anybody in the vicinity of the Huntsman Inn between 1pm and 2.30pm yesterday afternoon.
Witnesses can contact Laytown Garda Station on 041 9813320 or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.
All pictures: Laura Hutton/Photocall Ireland
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