LAST UPDATE | 29 Aug

GARDAÍ BELIEVE an innocent father of three was shot dead as he worked on a building site on the orders of a dangerous criminal because of a pub row a number of years before, The Journal has learned.

It is believed that Clinton McCormack, 44, was killed in Bray in 2023 because of the decades old vengeance obsession of a gangland figure – it was the second such attempt on his life.

Sources have said that the murder is believed to have been ordered by a gangland figure in Bray who had as a young man been in a dispute with Clinton McCormack which started in a pub. 

Today Dublin coroner’s court heard that the death of Mr McCormack was “extremely complex” medically because he was suffering also from an undetected brain tumour.

Clinton McCormack (44), a married father of three with an address in Bray, Co Wicklow, died at St Vincent’s University Hospital in Dublin on 19 December 2023.

Coroner Cróna Gallagher told the opening of an inquest into the death of Mr McCormack today that establishing the cause of death in the case was “extremely complex.”

Dr Gallagher told a brief sitting of Dublin District Coroner’s Court that the results of a postmortem showed that the deceased has suffered a hypoxic ischemic brain injury (a lack of oxygen to the brain) as well as acute swelling of the brain.

The coroner said Mr McCormack has also had “an in-hospital cardiac arrest due to multiple gunshot wounds” as well as a brain tumour.

She said there were no other contributory factors.

Mr McCormack, who was a construction worker, came originally from Gorey, Co Wexford and had been living near Oulart, Co Wexford in the period before his death.

The deceased’s wife, Samantha McCormack, fought back tears as she gave evidence of formally identifying her husband’s body to gardaí after her husband had passed away at 8.27pm in the intensive care unit at St Vincent’s on 19 December.

Garda Ciara Hayes of Bray Garda station gave evidence of having gone to the hospital to take up duty that day when she was informed at 2.46pm that Mr McCormack had been declared “brain dead”.

A solicitor for the deceased’s family, Dermot Hickey, welcomed the ability of his relatives to be issued with a death certificate but said they would have questions “at a later date.”

Detective Inspector Seamus Ryan said criminal proceedings were being considered in relation to Mr McCormack’s death.

However, the inquest heard that a file on the case has still to be forwarded to the DPP.

An application for a six-month adjournment of the inquest was granted under Section 25 (1) of the Coroners Act on the basis that criminal proceedings are being considered.

Adjourning the case for further mention to 6 March 2025, Dr Gallagher offered her sympathy to Ms McCormack and other family members of the deceased on what she described as “a very tragic death.”

Apart from mention of the gunshot wounds sustained by the victim, no references were made to events leading up to Mr McCormack’s death during the brief hearing.

The deceased had been brought to St Vincent’s after he had been shot in his arms and legs at a housing development in Delgany, Co Wicklow.

The incident occurred as Mr McCormack and his teenage son were carrying out exterior insulation work on a property in the Bellevue Hill development at around 4.30pm on December 14, 2023.

The boy was also assaulted during the attack on his father.

It emerged that Mr McCormack was targeted by two masked gunmen who fired multiple shots with handguns at their victim after cornering him behind a van.

Gardaí believe the shooting was ordered by a Bray-based crime gang which is considered the main supplier of drugs in the north Wicklow area.

One male was subsequently arrested in relation to a 2007-reg black Ford Focus that was seen near the scene of the shooting between Bellevue Hill and Kindlestown Woods car park between 3pm and 5pm on 14 December.

Gardaí also carried out searches on six properties in parts of Dublin and Wicklow as part of their investigation into the shooting of Mr McCormack.

It is also understood that the victim was unaware that he had a brain tumour.

A convicted rapist, Eoghan O’Connell (35) is currently serving a 12-year sentence for a previous attempted murder on Mr McCormack in front of his family eight years ago.

The incident occurred as Mr McCormack was leaving his then home in Old Court Park, Bray, Co Wicklow to go to work shortly after 7am on April 18, 2016.

O’Connell pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of Mr McCormack before a sitting of the Central Criminal Court in March 2018.

The court heard that the victim, who moved home following the attack, escaped injury because the shotgun used by O’Connell misfired due to shotgun cartridges being damp.

With additional reporting from Niall O’Connor