Well, this is going to help things along, isn't it?

Sparks

http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/0215/mcdowellm.html

Shot fired at McDowell holiday home

15 February 2005 20:21

Gardaí are investigating an incident in which a shot was fired at the controversial holiday home of Justice Minister Michael McDowell at Rooskey in Co Roscommon.

A front window is believed to have been broken in the incident over the weekend, which was discovered when builders turned up for work yesterday morning.

A shotgun cartridge was discovered adjacent to the house, which was the subject of a High Court battle after Roscommon County Council refused to extend planning permission last year.

Gardaí would not confirm today that the McDowell house had been targeted, but confirmed that they were investigating a criminal incident at a house in Rooskey.

It is understood the construction workers have now returned to the site and work on the house has restarted.

Wonderful... and today the CJB comes up in the Dail. Well, that's just the kind of example we needed to see, isn't it?

E@gle.

ahh sure thats roscommion for ya

civdef

I don't see how one dumbass criminal who may not even have a licenced firearm will have any impact on how the legislation proceeds. Criminals commit illegal acts with firearms all the time. They should be severely punished (more so than at present).

I believe the Minister has enough sense to see the difference between criminals and legitimate sportspeople.

ah well, no use crying over spilt milk, and its not like he or his family was shot........ that would effect the CJB outcome somewhat

but your right, the punishment should be upped for gun crimes

Sparks

civdef wrote:

I don't see how one dumbass criminal who may not even have a licenced firearm will have any impact on how the legislation proceeds.
I believe the Minister has enough sense to see the difference between criminals and legitimate sportspeople.

It's not so much the legislative process as the frame of mind the Minister will be in when going through it, that worries me. Remember all the comments about how he became far more right-wing after his son was assaulted?

jaycee

Absolutely shocked ..!

It's hard to believe that anyone could be so bloody stupid.. :mad:

I hope that whoever is responsible is caught and punished severely.

In an ideal world , it wouldn't matter much , But it's hardly likely to help.

E@gle.

i dont see it affecting licensed firearms.

Terrier

Well lets see how stupid they are, according to RTE they have found the shotgun cartridge... finger prints and all that..

Probe into shot fired at McDowell's home

16 February 2005 11:25

Gardaí are investigating an incident in which a shot was fired at the holiday home of the Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, near Rooskey in Co Roscommon.

A front window is believed to have been broken in the incident over the weekend, which was discovered when builders turned up to work on Monday morning.

A shotgun cartridge was discovered nearby.

The house was the subject of a High Court action by the minister and his wife last year after Roscommon County Council refused to extend planning permission.

The High Court found that the council had illegally refused planning permission for the house.

The motive for the attack is not known

fiacha

i wonder if the minister has a licensed firearm......maybe he had a crack at a magpie and decided not to tell the wife that he missed.

as they have the shell, should we expect all shotguns in the Republic to be hauled in for forensic testing ??

E@gle.

its on the front page of one of the tabloids today (the star i thinkim not sure) but they are claiming the ira are responsible.

Chipboard

E@gle. wrote:

ahh sure thats roscommion for ya

Ahem, ahem..... I wont even dignify that with a retort.

E@gle.

E@gle. wrote:

its on the front page of one of the tabloids today (the star i thinkim not sure) but they are claiming the ira are responsible.

such a trusted piece of media....

A single shot at a pane of glass sounds more like the work of one loony then the organisation that pulled off irelands largest bank robbery......... without firing a single shot

please note that i am not defending the IRA but want to prevent a new wave of anti terrorism laws that could arise from a traditional knee jerk reaction aimed blindly at the IRA

Sparks

From today's Examiner:

Gardaí target gun owners after attack on minister's house
By John Breslin and Liam Horan
SHOTGUN owners in three counties are likely to be visited by gardaí investigating an attack on Justice Minister Michael McDowell's holiday home.

Ballistic tests will be carried out in order to match a suspected weapon to a cartridge found at the scene of the shooting. It is more difficult than matching a bullet to a rifle, but it is possible, according to gardaí.

A shot smashed the windows of the €500,000 holiday home at Rooskey in Co Roscommon, close to the borders of Leitrim and Longford. Gardaí are likely to visit the homes of licence holders in parts of those three counties.

The shooting took place some time over the weekend and no one was in the house. While gardaí are taking it seriously - the minister was briefed and senior members met yesterday to discuss the incident - the shooting is not likely to have been carried out by anyone linked to the IRA, as suggested in reports.

One round was fired and the cartridge was left at the scene. Builders working on the house discovered the damage and the shotgun pellets when they arrived on Monday morning.

However, the house is believed to have been targeted and not struck by mistake as the shot was fired from close range by a person who would have had to scale a security fence. Security arrangements for the minister are likely to be reviewed in the wake of the attack. He already has 24-hour garda security, including a detail outside his home in Ranelagh in south Dublin.

The construction of the house has attracted some controversy and was the subject of High Court action after Roscommon County Council refused to allow Mr McDowell and his wife, Niamh Brennan, more time to complete the building. The couple were given permission by the court.

The attack has been condemned by the Mayor of Roscommon, who added that Mr McDowell is "very welcome" to build a house in the county.

Fine Gael's Sean Beirne said he was "disappointed and annoyed the county of Roscommon would be associated with anything like that", despite the council's high-profile spat with Mr McDowell over planning.

civdef

It may be easier to track the responsible party than might be imagined if the cartridge found was used in the incident (spent cartridges aren't that unusual a sight in rural areas).

I'm guessing a semi-auto shotgun was involved (that or staggering stupidity was involved to take the cartridge from the gun and leave it at the scene). These would be a fairly small proportion of registered shotguns. Then the type of cartrige used will be compared to the sales registers of dealers in the area. If it's a less common brand - it's narrowed down further. If this leads to a shortlist of possibles, ballistic testing can match extractor/firing pin marks on the used cartridge and the gun.

This all assumes a legally held firearm was used. If the gun was an illegal one then the culprits are probably home free.

E@gle.

Rural areas like that nearly every second house has some sort of shotgun in the house

E@gle.

original_psycho wrote:

such a trusted piece of media....

A single shot at a pane of glass sounds more like the work of one loony then the organisation that pulled off irelands largest bank robbery......... without firing a single shot

please note that i am not defending the IRA but want to prevent a new wave of anti terrorism laws that could arise from a traditional knee jerk reaction aimed blindly at the IRA

yeah i agree with you there.
Why would the ira waste there time firing a single shot.

civdef

civdef wrote:

It may be easier to track the responsible party than might be imagined if the cartridge found was used in the incident (spent cartridges aren't that unusual a sight in rural areas).

I'm guessing a semi-auto shotgun was involved (that or staggering stupidity was involved to take the cartridge from the gun and leave it at the scene).

The cartridge was found inside the security fence according to Sparks's article so you would think that it should be the one that was fired?

However, as you say, there are a large number of cartridges left around the country so it could be a red herring or left by a person who has a grudge against both the minister and a person with a shotgun

(adding an extra depth to the story!!)