Charlie ‘snubbed us after shooting’
Councillor accuses Flanagan of ignoring community stunned by double murder
JUSTICE Minister Charlie Flanagan was last night accused of snubbing a community left reeling in the wake of a horrific double murder.
Ballymun councillor Noeleen Reilly was blocked on Twitter when she asked for extra gardai to police the area after the shootings that were carried out in broad daylight.
She then emailed Mr Flanagan asking him to visit the North Dublin district to allay people’s concerns – but she has yet to receive any reply.
The Sinn Fein represenative contacted the minister after innocent victims mum-of-six Antoinette Corbally, 48, and 30-year-old locksmith Clinton Shannon were gunned down on Wednesday.
She told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “I was very taken aback in light of what happened here earlier this week.
“I certainly wasn’t being abusive or unreasonable in my request.
“That is the last thing a Government minister should be doing to another public representative. Particularly when the community is living in fear and doesn’t know what’s around the corner. “People here are in total shock. There’s armed gardai swarming all over the place. It’s a necessary evil and I’m glad they’re here but we’ve been asking for more Garda resources for a while and it should not have taken two deaths for it to happen.” Detectives are trawling CCTV footage and forensic officers are examining a machine gun and firearm recovered in a torched car linked to the shootings.
They have opened up 300 lines of inquiry into the attack which left two dead and two others injured.
The target of the intended hit, which is believed to be related to a local gang feud, was Antoinette’s brother Derek “Bottler” Devoy, 37. He got out of a car holding a baby when two thugs approached him outside a Ballymun house but left the child at the door and managed to flee unharmed.
Councillor Reilly said fears of more tit-for-tat killings are mounting.
She added: “We’ve had several shootings here in recent months and in one instance an entire estate was gotten out of bed at 6am because of a pipe bomb.
“It’s not clear if they are related but the bottom line is people are afraid.
“They won’t let their children out to play because they don’t know if they’re going to end up in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“I know Minister Flanagan came out with a brief statement but I wonder has he given it another thought since.
“Judging from his response [to me] it really doesn’t seem like he has.”
During his time as Foreign Minister Mr Flanagan reportedly blocked the campaign to free imprisoned Dubliner Ibrahim Halawa from interacting with him on Twitter.
The bottom line is people are afraid. They won’t let their children out to play NOELEEN REILLY, LEFT, BALLYMUN YESTERDAY