Dublin Real IRA will kill anyone who gets in their way

The Real IRA in Dublin say they will kill anyone who gets in their way including Gardai.

A dissident feud in Dublin is set to escalate as a faction of the Real IRA in Dublin push forward to take control of drug dealing, extortion and racketeering. The feud has been simmering for some time with senior dissident Joe Clarke (40) savagely beaten in Portlaoise Prison last month. Joe Clarke who appeared at the Special Criminal Court (17/7/2011) and was charged with IRA membership was remanded to Portlaoise Prison where he was placed with other dissident republicans. Joe Clarke was then beaten in a frenzied attack by other dissident members, some of whom are believed to have used iron bars in the attack. This attack on Joe Clarke is the latest event in a long running feud between dissident groups who are trying to assert dominance in the dissident groupings.

For some time now there has been concern that the dissident groups are effectively running Portlaoise Prison and have full access to mobile phones and class A drugs. In the latest development the Real IRA faction led by the Ryan Brothers has threatened to shoot a number of Traveller criminals carrying out extortion using the dissidents' name. The Real IRA faction involved with the travellers was led by Joe Clarke and two other senior Real IRA members.

This latest development came as gardai stepped up armed patrols and search operations in the Coolock, north Dublin, area, where a number of the Travellers are operating. With tensions increasing, the garda helicopter patrolled the skies over the Coolock area for a number of hours last night.

A senior member of the Real IRA faction led by the Ryan brothers said:

“We will shoot anyone who stands in our way including the Gardai”.

In the early hours of yesterday morning there was a heavy garda presence in the nearby Belcamp area and gardai are also investigating a shooting incident that happened in the locality in the early hours of Thursday morning. Among the Traveller criminals under "active threat" are three men who were arrested by armed officers from the Special Detective Unit in July over a botched extortion racket.

Ten people were arrested in the operation in Balbriggan in north Co Dublin after the gang initially targeted the wrong house. The group then arrived at the home of a man they had selected as a potential victim. Wearing balaclavas and scarves over their faces, three or four of the group entered the house while the rest remained outside.

They told their target that he would be shot if he did not meet their demand for a five-figure cash sum. He was then shown the photograph of the republican funeral as a chilling warning.

The Joe Clarke faction whose membership includes several well-known traveller criminals has been warned in no uncertain terms that they will be wiped out by the Ryan faction if they continue to operate on their turf. Liam Kenny was shot dead a few weeks ago as a result of another feud involving dissidents in Dublin, it is believed that some of the dissidents believe they are untouchable and Gardai are responding to that bravado with a show of strength.