Two men held by gardaí over gun murder of Vinnie Ryan

TWO men have been arrested in connection with the murder of a dissident republican who was shot dead while sitting in his car last month.

The suspects, aged in their 30s, were detained during early morning Garda raids yesterday in north and west Dublin by investigators probing the killing of Vincent ‘Vinnie’ Ryan.

The 25-year-old was gunned down in a gangland-style attack as he sat in a car outside his partner Kelly Smyth’s home in Finglas, Co. Dublin, on February 29. In a statement, gardaí confirmed the operation saw them search a number of properties. They also confirmed that two men were arrested during the course of the search.

One man was last night being detained under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act, 2007 at Finglas Garda Station.

The second man was being held under Section 30 of the Offences Against The State Act, 1939 at Blanchardstown Garda Station.

The funeral of Vinnie Ryan took place last week and was monitored by an intensive Garda security operation. Real IRA leader Alan Ryan, brother of the deceased, was murdered in 2012 and received a full paramilitary funeral which included a volley of shots being fired over the coffin.

Vinnie Ryan was arrested after the paramilitary activity at his older brother’s funeral in 2012. However, his family issued a statement saying Vinnie’s funeral would not be a ‘military’ service. They also appealed for no retaliation for the murder.

Vinnie Ryan is survived by his partner Kelly, baby Phoenix, mother Marion, and siblings Anthony, Niamh, Dermot and Eoin.