A man in his late 40s has been arrested following the fatal shooting of motorcycle enthusiast Andrew O'Donoghue at Mountfune in Murroe, Co Limerick on Saturday afternoon.
He is the fourth person to be arrested in connection with the shooting which gardaí believe was a dispute between different elements of the Irish biker scene.
Mr O’Donoghue (51) later died at University Hospital Limerick.
The man was arrested on Monday morning in Limerick city and is currently being detained at Henry Street Garda station under the provisions of Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007.
His detention follows the arrest of three other men on Saturday night in the Limerick area. The three men, two in their late 40s and one in his 20s, are currently detained at Henry Street and Roxboro Road Garda stations under the provisions of Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007.
The four men can be held for up to seven days. A number of searches have also been carried out.
Definite line of inquiry
Garda sources said they were working on a definite line of inquiry, with one such avenue centring on a row about two weeks ago between rival groups.
While biker gangs have been involved in the manufacture of drugs and gun related violence as well as gun feuding in other jurisdictions, the Irish scene is not marked by such serious criminality and violence.
However, there have been hostilities between different Irish groups in the past.
Mr O'Donoghue was shot outside the Road Tramps Motorcycle Club Ireland club house Murrore, Co Limerick, at approximately 3.10pm on Saturday.
A car pulled up outside the clubhouse from which a shotgun was fired in Mr O’Donoghue’s direction. The shots hit the victim in the face, with the vehicle carrying the gunman speeding from the scene.
Mr O’Donoghue collapsed and was brought to University Hospital Limerick by ambulance. He died a short time later.
The 51-year-old lived locally – at Cois na Coille, Murroe – with his partner Catherine Danaher and their daughter Ava. He had been in a relationship with Ms Danaher since both were teenagers.
Gardaí believe the dead man was the intended target of the drive-by shooting, adding it appeared those who targeted him had been watching him and appeared to have information about his movements.
