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Gunman killed in Christmas Eve shooting is named as gardai braced for reprisals

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar decries shocking attack in ‘a well-known family restaurant I’ve visited many times’

Today at 08:51

Gardaí are braced for revenge attacks after a shocking incident that led to one man being stabbed to death in a knife attack just moments after he tried to gun down a customer in a busy ­Dublin restaurant.

Tristan Sherry (26), who is originally from Finglas, was pronounced dead at Browne’s Steakhouse on Main Street in Blanchardstown after he was overpowered by other men when he used a high-velocity weapon in the attempted gun murder on Christmas Eve.

His victim, a 47-year-old man from Corduff, was eating with family members in the restaurant when Sherry arrived at the scene and fired multiple shots at him at 8.10pm while there were children in the restaurant.

He was last night being treated at Connolly Memorial Hospital last night where his condition was described as serious.

He suffered at least one gunshot wound to the neck. Associates of the shooting victim, some of whom have strong links to gangland figures, have already sworn revenge.

All this has meant a huge increase in tensions and armed garda patrols in the Blanchardstown area, with one source saying “threats are flying around everywhere”.

Sherry was a known associate of the Finglas-based drugs trafficking gang led by the criminal nicknamed ‘Mr Flashy’.

This gang had previously become embroiled in the Corduff feud that led to numerous violent incidents in 2018 and 2019.

“The potential for the gun attack to have been organised by the ‘Mr Flashy’ crew is a very significant line of inquiry in this case,” a source said.

“It was a botched but very reckless shooting as there were a number of children in the restaurant when this happened and other people could have been easily hit.”

Justice Minister Helen McEntee has described the attack as “disgusting”.

“I deplore the violence in Blanchardstown,” Ms McEntee said in an Instagram post.

“This viciousness has resulted in unimaginable human suffering this Christmas. That anyone could perpetrate such violence as families gathered together is especially disgusting.

“I’m thinking of the bereaved, those who were at the scene and indeed all the emergency service personnel working tonight and over Christmas who have to deal with this senseless violence.”

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he was shocked to hear about the shooting at “a well-known family restaurant I’ve visited many times”.

“Full garda investigation under way. My thanks to them and solidarity to staff and customers,” he wrote on X/Twitter.

Residents in Blanchardstown have told of their distress about the gun attack.

“I’m absolutely appalled,” said Pauline Harte, a local school warden.

“It’s a very safe community and to happen on that occasion on Christmas Eve is absolutely deplorable.”

She added: “I’m just really in a state of shock because Blanchardstown is a very tightly knit community and I often dine in that restaurant and it’s a very busy, popular restaurant. Lovely staff and lovely people go there from the area.

“Everybody knows everybody, and what a time for it to happen and so unfortunate because Christmas is a time of peace and love and good Christmas spirit. I’m absolutely shocked.”

Another local said there had been a lot of people in the village attending Christmas mass at the time of the gun attack.

“I just thought it was terrible that on Christmas Eve, with families out, that people would be so dreadful,” they said.

“Mass was at nine o’clock, in fact there was a carol service at 8.30pm, so it was right in the middle of all that.

“Blanchardstown is a very safe village and I walk up and down it alone all the time.”

North Dublin Fianna Fáil councillor Howard Mahony said he was “totally horrified” by the events on Christmas Eve.

“What I find most concerning is that there were innocent men, women and children out during one of the busiest nights of the year,” Cllr Mahony said.

Mr Mahony, who is a former garda, said he “could never have imagined” an incident like this happening in the village.

“I’m just shocked, to be honest – shocked is the only way I can describe it. I could never have imagined it.

“In all my years, such a blatant attack…it’s just shocking.

“People go out and they are at their happiest, there’s the biggest buzz. It’s one of the nicest days of the year, people are with family, they’re with friends, and to come across this incident… but I can imagine that those people are every bit as traumatised.”

Cllr Mahony said that the village had begun to thrive again after struggling for some time when Blanchardstown Shopping Centre first opened nearby, taking business away from some local shops.

“Blanchardstown is a settled village, it’s experiencing a period of prosperity now,” he added. “It had been failing when the town centre went up first but it’s experiencing great prosperity now.

“We have restaurants, coffee shops, vibrant businesses, and it’s just not what we want, and you don’t expect it.

“To my knowledge, I cannot remember a similar incident or anything like it in Blanchardstown village.

“I’m totally horrified, and my thoughts are with the people who were there.”