Gardaí in Co Limerick have warned that "nobody is untouchable" as they respond to ongoing feud-related violence in the city, including drive-by shootings and petrol bomb attacks.
Recent violent incidents, many of which have been shared on social media, have prompted fears that innocent people could get hurt or that Limerick city could see the return of gangland killings, but gardaí have insisted they will not allow that to happen.
In the latest incident, shots were fired from a moving car in the Southill area of the city shortly after midnight on Friday. Multiple shots were fired from the vehicle towards a house in Valley View in O'Malley Park, before it was seen speeding away.
No one was injured in the incident, which happened a month after a similar drive-by shooting in the Hyde Road area in Ballinacurra Weston, when houses were fired at and windows broken. Footage was shared on social media showing a hooded driving firing up to nine shots from the window of a moving car.
The shootings come following petrol and pipe bomb attacks, and after months of heightened alert in the Hyde Road and Southill areas with increased uniformed, plain-clothes and armed garda patrols assisted by the Garda Regional Support Unit, Bomb Disposal Teams and the Emergency Response Unit.
One resident in the Hyde Road area of Limerick said the local community is strong and there are "a few bad eggs" causing violence in the area.
"It's a lovely community, lovely people. It's just a few bad eggs," she told RTÉ Radio 1.
"You'd be afraid. They've thrown fireballs and things like that. It could be your house. I'd be afraid for people getting hurt.
"Hopefully it'll all die down and things will go back to normal."
There are reports of a new generation of organised criminal gangs emerging, more than a decade after the notorious territorial drugs feud between the McCarthy Dundon and Keane Collopy gangs that resulted in at least 14 people being shot dead in Limerick between 2000 and 2010.
The head of the Limerick Garda Division has vowed that gardaí "won't allow that" and that the people of Limerick "won't stand for that to happen".
Acknowledging a significant increase in violent incidents involving "people that are in different organised crime groupings", Chief Superintendent Derek Smart said he could assure people that "we are a long way from where we were" in terms of the violence of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Speaking to RTÉ's Drivetime, he said there is now organised crime legislation, which will be utilised "to its fullest" and will "make people accountable for the actions that they're taking bringing innocent people into fear".
Chief Supt Smart, who has spent most of his 30-year career in Limerick, said he was concerned about the "lack of reporting" of some crimes, including drive-by shootings.
Acknowledging that "people are obviously afraid to come forward and talk to us", he said gardaí are enhancing their community policing response "to build up that trust again" as he urged locals to "pick up the phone and call us" or the Garda Confidential Line to assist in a quicker response to incidents and investigations, as they "can't use social media in court".
Asked about reports of young people, including children being used by known drug dealing gangs, Chief Supt Smart insisted "nobody is untouchable", pointing to charges in the Special Criminal Court, many convictions, "lengthy sentences" and ongoing seizures by the Criminal Assets Bureau, who he said "had a very big operation in Saint Mary's Park in Limerick only two weeks ago".
He said a "lot of people" have been held accountable and he warned those making money from criminality that gardaí "will be coming after them".
He said that while there has been "no loss of life" regarding current activities in Limerick, he appealed to people to be "conscious of that" and "careful of what they're doing".
Expressing fears of "burnout" among gardaí working "tirelessly" to pursue organised crime in Limerick, Chief Supt Smart said he raised the issue of garda resources with Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan on a visit to Henry Street Garda Station two weeks ago.
Minister O'Callaghan acknowledged after that visit the "fantastic job" done by gardaí in Limerick many years ago in "dealing with the violent feuds that were going on here".
He said he had "no doubt" that when it comes to feuds in Limerick or elsewhere, An Garda Síochána "will get on top of it".
The minister pledged to ensure they are provided with "whatever resources are required".
John Moran, the Mayor of Limerick City and County, said he was "upset" to see the recent "unwelcome escalations of criminal behaviour", adding that his first thoughts were with those affected.
He said that while criminal matters fall under the jurisdiction of An Garda Síochána, Limerick City and County Council remains "committed to doing all we can to help them and local residents and groups".
Mr Moran stressed the need to allow garda investigations to run their course.
"Crime and violence is no way to resolve disputes," he said, urging locals to "steer clear of that behaviour before someone is seriously hurt".
