Gardaí are investigating the circumstances of the shooting of a man who may have been mistaken for an animal by a hunter at a Dublin golf course.
The man, who is in his 40s, was shot and seriously injured at Corrstown Golf Club in the townland of Kilsallaghan shortly before 11pm.
He was taken to the Mater hospital and is being treated in the intensive care unit for what are understood to be non-life threatening injuries.
Gardaí believe he may have been mistaken for an animal by a man out hunting in the area last night.
It is understood a number of men were out hunting in the area around the golf club, while a separate group, wearing wetsuits, were searching for golf balls.
Golf balls are regularly lost in the lake at the Corrstown Golf Club, a 27-hole parkland and an island green.
It appears that one of the hunters saw movement in the dark, which they mistook for an animal and discharged a round.
The victim was shot in the upper body.
Emergency personnel and gardaí who were called to the scene said he was extremely fortunate not to have been fatally injured.
Gardaí said they are still trying to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident, although they do not believe there was a sinister or organised crime involvement.
They have recovered a weapon.
