Gardaí have been granted additional time to question three men arrested in connection with the murder of Limerick motorcycle enthusiast Andrew O’Donoghue at the weekend.
Gardaí recovered a sawn-off shotgun and two vehicles as part of their investigation into the fatal shooting of Mr O’Donoghue (51) outside the Road Tramp Motorcycle Club, in Murroe at around 3pm on Saturday afternoon.
The shooting is believed to have been carried out by another biker after an internal matter arose within the club, sources have revealed.
One line of inquiry being pursued by officers is that Mr O’Donoghue was in the wrong place at the wrong time and that the gunman was looking for anyone connected to the club.
Gardaí believe a shooting at an apartment on the Dublin Road outside Limerick City on Sunday may be linked to the murder.
Two shots were fired after 6pm on Sunday at an apartment block in Castletroy, but nobody was injured.
Four men, aged in their 40s and 20s, are being detained over the killing.
Mr O’Donoghue, a long-serving member of the club, was shot in the face on Saturday afternoon. He died two hours later from his injuries in hospital.
“Anyone who was at the clubhouse when the gunman opened fire could have been hurt. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” said a source.
The chief suspect for the shooting had previously been on the receiving end of internal sanctions imposed by senior club members.
“Tensions were growing among members anyway over the past few weeks and different things were happening in the weeks leading up to this,” sources said.
Gardaí have appealed for calm and a security presence is expected at Mr O’Donoghue’s removal which takes place at 7pm this Tuesday evening from Crosse’s funeral home in Ballyneety to Road Tramps MC Clubhouse.
Mr O’Donoghue was originally from Lynwood Park in Limerick city but had been living in Murroe with his partner Kate Danaher and their daughter Ava.
The funeral mass will take place on Wednesday at 11.30am in Murroe church with burial afterwards in Abington cemetery.
CCTV footage from the scene of Saturday’s murder has been harvested as part of the the inquiry.
At a special sitting of Limerick District Court in Kilmallock on Monday night Judge Marian O’Leary granted gardaí an additional time to question three men suspected of murdering the motorcycle enthusiast.
The three suspects aged 48, 49, and 25 can be detained for a further 72 hours.
A fourth man aged in his 40s also remained in garda custody on Monday night in connection with the investigation.
In his evidence at Kilmallock District court, Chief Superintendent Pat Sullivan from Tralee outlined the extensive investigation underway into the murder and said a total of fifty gardaí from across the Limerick Division are involved in the investigation.
A dedicated scientist and ballistic expert has been assigned to the case.
Chief Superintendent Sullivan said a number of items, including a firearm, shell casings and wadding, recovered in searches in the aftermath of the shooting have been recovered and have been sent to Dublin for forensic and ballistic testing.
The court heard the three men have been interviewed for a total of 30 hours and four minutes by teams of gardaí, while CCTV footage from the scene has also been harvested.