A man who was shot and wounded in an attack at a west Dublin restaurant on Christmas Eve has died in hospital from his injuries. Jason Hennessy snr, a Dubliner aged 48, died at the Mater hospital on Thursday after his condition had deteriorated in recent days.
His death means gardaí investigating the attack at Browne’s Steakhouse, Main Street, Blanchardstown, are now carrying out two murder investigations. A murder inquiry had already been under way into the killing of one of the gunmen who carried out the attack, Tristan Sherry.
A 26-year-old father of one from Finglas, north Dublin, Mr Sherry was overpowered in the busy restaurant and beaten and fatally stabbed. However, he was with accomplices, who managed to flee the scene in a vehicle waiting outside.
One man has already been charged with the murder of Mr Sherry. Michael Andrecut (22) with an address at Sheephill Avenue, Blanchardstown, appeared at a special court sitting at the Criminal Courts of Justice on Saturday morning, after he was charged with murder at Blanchardstown Garda station last Friday night. He was subsequently further remanded in custody while a book of evidence is prepared.
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Two other men, one a teenager, were arrested on Wednesday in connection with the investigation. The teenager was charged on Thursday by gardaí investigating Mr Sherry’s murder and is due to appear before Blanchardstown District Court on Friday morning. The other is still being held under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984, at a Garda station in west Dublin.
With Mr Sherry now dead, Garda sources say the murder investigation now under way into the fatal shooting of Mr Hennessy snr would target the other men involved in the attack just after 8pm on Christmas Eve.
Mr Hennessy was driven to Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown, by an associate immediately after being shot in the restaurant. He was later transferred to the Mater hospital in Dublin’s north inner city.
While it was initially believed he would survive, he had suffered several wounds, including to his neck, and his condition significantly deteriorated in recent days.
The man who died on Thursday was well known to gardaí and was facing a number of criminal charges at the time of his death. He was from the Sheephill area of Blanchardstown and has a number of associates who are regarded by gardaí as dangerous criminals.
Gardaí believe Mr Hennessy snr was the gunmen’s intended target and that the killers also wanted to shoot another man in the restaurant. Mr Hennessy, who was facing criminal charges at the time of his murder, and Mr Sherry, a father of one from Finglas, were both previously known to gardaí.
They were effectively aligned to rival criminal factions that have been involved in a dispute for years. Senior Garda officers are now concerned the deaths of both men will lead to reprisals.
Garda Headquarters said a second murder investigation had commenced following the death of Mr Hennessy from gunshot wounds. It said Garda family liaison officers were in contact with both families.
Blanchardstown gardaí were being assisted in the murder investigations by the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NBCI), the Garda’s serious crimes squad. A postmortem will be carried out on the remains of Mr Hennessy.
“Gardaí continue to appeal to any person with any information on these incidents to contact the Garda investigation team,” the statement said.
The scene of the shooting was sealed off when gardaí arrived on Christmas Eve and has since undergone an extensive examination by members of the Garda Technical Bureau. Gardaí have also reviewed CCTV video, and other footage from inside the premises, where chaotic scenes unfolded as diners dived for cover when the gunmen burst into the busy restaurant.
A number of people who were on the premises at the time have also been interviewed and Garda sources said the investigations into both killings were continuing at pace. Though Mr Hennessy only succumbed to his injuries on Thursday, all of the resources of a murder inquiry had already been committed to investigating the gun attack on him.
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