Is Gun Crime In Dublin Even Surprising Anymore?

Last year's unprecedented shooting at The Regency rattled the nation.

During a boxing weigh-in on February 5, 2016, four men burst into the hotel – two of which were dressed as members of the Garda Emergency Response Unit and armed with machine guns – in order to kill David Byrne, who was believed to be an associate of Christy Kinahan of the Kinahan gang.

But, of course, you know this story. You couldn't not have been aware of this crime. This sort of thing doesn't happen in Ireland.

At least, it didn't. Before the reprisals began.

RTÉ’s Paul Reynolds reports on a fatal shooting in Dublin’s north inner city https://t.co/d2Eeoyl8mS
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) February 8, 2016

Since The Regency, violent clashes between the Hutch and Kinahan gangs have been ongoing. Mistaken identity has even lead to bystanders becoming casualties of this gang war. Yet the more we hear the same story of a man being gunned down in the street, the more used to it we become.

A man seriously wounded on Sheriff Street, a man shot 'several times' in Mulhuddart, a man in his 40s shot dead in Lucan – a story that's become so familiar we've losing sensitivity to it.

Ask yourself honestly, are you still shocked when you hear about yet another shooting in Dublin? Has it become that commonplace that you've lost track of the attacks? If so, we should be worried.

That's not to say that nothing's being done on the Gardai's side of things, they've upped their presence, their raids, and their armed support units are better equipped than ever.

Commissioner Nóirín O'Sullivan & Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald at the launch of the Garda Armed Support Unit (ASU) https://t.co/ehhIPg4ynB pic.twitter.com/mwf4EYEGix
— An Garda Síochána (@GardaTraffic) December 14, 2016

Yet, in a way, that's part of the problem. Heavily armed Gardai are a sign of an escalation in Irish crime that can't be ignored.

We're currently ranked as the 12th safest country in the world, a not unimpressive place to hold. Let's just hope we don't slip further and further down that list in years to come.