Reprisal fears as Real IRA chief is gunned down in Cork ambush
POLICE in the Republic fear reprisal attacks after a Real IRA commander was shot dead in Cork.
Aidan O’Driscoll (37) — nicknamed ‘The Beast’ — died during emergency surgery just over an hour after being shot three times in an ambush-style attack in the Blackpool area of the city yesterday evening.
Just three years ago the Ballyvolane native had survived another gun attack.
Mr O’Driscoll was shot in the legs during a 2013 Cork attack after what Gardaí believed was a punishment operation carried out by fellow dissident republicans.
At one point, he was suspected to have served as chief of staff for the Real IRA in Munster.
Last night’s shooting took place in a quiet residential area.
He was shot outside an apartment complex off Blackpool village in Cork, not far from Blackpool Church. The attack took place shortly before 5pm and is understood to have involved a lone gunman and an accomplice who acted as a getaway driver.
Locals reported hearing several loud bangs and seeing a man, apparently masked, running from the scene.
He is then believed to have fled the area in a waiting car driven by another man who was also masked.
Initial reports are that Mr O’Driscoll realised he was being ambushed and attempted to flee.
However, he was shot in the back with a handgun and collapsed to the ground.
The gunman then calmly walked up to him and shot him a number of times as he lay wounded on the pavement.
A short time later, a vehicle was found less than 1km away, close to the North Monastery, having been set on fire.
Mr O’Driscoll was treated at the scene by paramedics before being rushed to Cork University Hospital (CUH).
It is understood he suffered at least three gunshot wounds to the back.
Despite desperate efforts by doctors to stabilise his condition, he died while undergoing emergency surgery at CUH.
Mr O’Driscoll was convicted before the Special Criminal Court in 2005 of being a member of the Real IRA.
He received a three-year prison sentence for being a member of the dissident group on December 13, 2003.
Four other men were also convicted of Real IRA membership in a combined trial.
However, Mr O’Driscoll’s conviction was subsequently overturned by Dublin’s Court of Criminal Appeal in May 2008.
The court quashed the convictions on the basis the Special Criminal Court did not have jurisdiction in the matter because the men were not charged “forthwith”.
Mr O’Driscoll was the only one of the five who had been in custody.
During the 2005 trial, a senior garda gave evidence that Mr O’Driscoll was part of a feared active service unit of the Real IRA in Munster.
It was also believed Mr O’Driscoll had been closely allied to Alan Ryan who was shot and killed in Dublin in 2012.
Mr Ryan was the leader of the Real IRA at the time.
Last night, Gardaí immediately sealed off the scene in Blackpool to allow for a detailed investigation by forensic experts. Officers also began door-to-door inquiries.