GARDAÍ FEAR A resumption of violence in west Dublin following the murder of a man in his front garden yesterday which officers believe is linked to a local drugs feud. 

David Lynch (42) was shot dead as he walked out his front door in Foxdene Avenue in Clondalkin at around 2pm yesterday afternoon. 

The gunman fired at least two shots at Lynch. He died almost instantly as he was shot in the head. 

Lynch was well-known to gardaí and was suspected of facilitating the local drugs trade. He was a known associate of a large drug supplier who is also based in the Clondalkin area. 

Gardaí also discovered a burnt out van, believed to be the shooter’s getaway vehicle, in a car park adjacent to a local primary school. A handgun equipped with a silencer was also discovered there. It has been sent for ballistic and forensic testing. 

While the major drug supplier is linked to serious players within the Kinahan cartel, this killing is not linked to the Kinahan/Hutch feud, gardaí believe. 

Six years

The local feud has been ongoing since 2013 but has flared up in the last two years. 

Darragh Nugent (36) was shot dead in September of 2017 as local dealers believed he was attempting to muscle in on the trade in the area. 

One week later, Nugent’s friend and associate John Gibson (28) was shot in the head in a car park in Saggart. 

This local feud has also seen associates of veteran criminal John Gilligan dragged into the middle of disputes. They have long been involved in the cocaine and cannabis trade in west Dublin. 

Garda drugs units as well as armed officers will be stationed in gangland flashpoints in a bid to quell any retribution from the rival gang. 

Gardaí are also calling for anyone with any information to call them. 

A spokesman said: “Gardai in Lucan Co Dublin are investigating a fatal shooting which occured in the front garden of a house in Foxdene, Dublin 22 at approximately 2pm today, Friday 1st March 2019.

“A number of shots were discharged at the scene. A man believed to be in his 40s was fatally injured.

“The scene of the shooting is currently preserved pending an examination by Garda Crime Scene Examiners.”

With reporting by Michelle Hennessy