Shooting ‘linked to murder of RIRA boss O’driscoll’
Garda probe after attempt to kill man as he walked through estate
GARDAI are probing if a late night shooting in a housing estate is linked to the murder of former IRA boss Aidan “The Beast” O’driscoll.
A volley of shots is understood to have been fired in the direction of a man as he walked through Ballyvolane on the northside of Cork on Thursday.
A source said: “It is believed gunmen, with links to the Real IRA in Cork, attempted to murder him.
“The shooting is the latest in a series of incidents – they are always at each other’s throats.
“There has been a split in the Real IRA in Cork and the murder of The Beast was the most violent of those.
“There also has been a pipe bomb attack and other criminal damage incidents.
“This doesn’t look like it will be solved any time soon.”
A Garda spokesman appealed for witnesses and the scene was being forensically examined to find bullet fragments.
He said: “Gardai are investigating a report of shots being discharged at Chapel Gate, Ballyvolane, Cork at 10.30pm on September 20.
“No one was injured in the incident. Witnesses to contact Mayfield Garda station.” O’driscoll, a father of
YESTERDAY
two and former commander of the Real IRA, was shot dead on the northside of Cork city on December 7, 2016.
The 37-year-old from Ballyvolane was blasted four times as he was walking along the Old Commons Road in Blackpool shortly before 5pm, just minutes after he had finished work. He gained the nickname The Beast, not for his murderous tendencies but because of his prowess on the Gaelic football pitch.
Sources revealed O’driscoll began his time in the organisation as a thugish enforcer but then was appointed Real IRA chiefof-staff by the Northern command in 2011. Despite this senior role he was ultimately expelled from the group by former Dublin gunman and Real IRA gangland martyr Alan Ryan.
The Beast had befriended the Dublin gang boss while in Portlaoise Prison but would subsequently fall foul of the organisation for “unrepublican conduct”. O’driscoll was accused of pocketing money from an extortion racket run by the terror group in Cork. Ultimately he would fall foul of his previous pals and would be blasted multiple times in the back as he walked along a city road.
Gunmen, with links to the Real IRA in Cork attempted to murder him SOURCE