Slain crime boss died alone as henchmen fled the scene

Slain crime boss died alone as henchmen fled the scene

By Tom Brady Security Editor

Monday April 26 2010

Murdered crime boss Eamon Dunne was abandoned by his close associates as his bullet-riddled body slumped to the ground in a Dublin pub at the weekend.

Dunne had been partying with up to 40 people, including some of his known criminal associates, when he was singled out and clinically executed by a gangland hitman.

But they all fled from the scene immediately after the killer and his accomplice left the pub without going to his aid.

One eye-witness said: "Nobody even bothered to check whether he was still alive. All of those, who had been regularly seen by his side during the past few years, ran away."

A post-mortem examination later confirmed that Dunne was shot six times in the head and back with an automatic pistol.

Witnesses said the gunman knew exactly where Dunne was sitting in the Fassaugh House pub in Fassaugh Avenue, Cabra, Dublin, when he walked into the premises around 10pm last Friday.

Senior garda officers last night described Dunne's murder as "a very professional hit". Beforehand, four men pulled up outside the pub in a silver coloured saloon car similar to a VW Passat or a Ford Mondeo.

One of the gang remained behind the wheel of the car as a second stood guard outside the entrance to the pub and the others walked calmly into the bar.

The gunman, who wore dark clothing with a hoodie pulled down over his face, calmly walked into the middle of the group of partygoers as he selected his target before firing his automatic pistol. Dunne had his back to the gunman but turned as the bullets struck him, before falling.

The gunman's accomplice, who was armed with a revolver, fired a warning shot into the air. The pair returned to the car, which sped away immediately.

Last night investigating officers were closely examining footage taken from CCTV cameras in the premises in an effort to identify those involved in the shooting.

Detectives were also trying to identify those who left the pub before they could be interviewed by gardai. Investigators are drawing up a list of possible suspects but admit that at this stage of their inquiries it includes a lot of names.

Terror

Dunne had been responsible for a reign of terror in Dublin's gangland since he took charge of the remnants of the drug trafficking and armed robbery gang, after the murder of its former leader, Martin "Marlo" Hyland in a house in Finglas in December 2006.

Among the suspects are members of rival gangs in the northern and western sides of the capital, particularly those whose accomplices were shot dead on Dunne's instructions.

Dunne had been given several warnings by the gardai that his life was in danger as a result of intelligence indicating that some of those gangs were seeking revenge for the murders.

He had been most recently connected to the murders of a drug-trafficking Traveller, John Paul Joyce, whose body was found at the back of Dublin airport in January. His victims also included some of his associates including Graham McNally, who was murdered last year; and a man who was ordered to shoot Michael "Roly" Cronin in the north inner city in January 2009 and has not been seen since.

The trawl for the likely mastermind behind the shooting is also extending overseas and includes a "major league" Irish drug trafficker, who is responsible for sending large shipments for the market here from mainland Europe.

- Tom Brady Security Editor

Irish Independent