A garda has told a court that a 17-year-old boy was caught "red-handed" with a sawn-off shotgun which is connected "to an ongoing feud" and could have been used "to seriously harm or kill someone".
The boy was accompanied by his mother at the Children's Court in Dublin.
He was charged with the unlawful possession of a side-by-side double-barrelled shotgun on Tuesday night at Tolka Valley Park in Finglas.
The court was told the boy "was caught red-handed in possession of the firearm".
Garda Daniel Sweeney said it was a sawn-off shotgun "that's not for hunting".
He said "there is no lawful purpose to have it. It is to seriously harm or kill someone".
He also said the incident related to an ongoing feud and that the boy "associates with one side of two organised crime groups in the feud".
His defence counsel said the teenager was vulnerable and asked the judge to note his background difficulties, his age, and the fact that he had no previous convictions.
However, Judge Paul Kelly refused bail and remanded him to appear again in court next week.
