Dublin gangsters are brazen enough to do "almost anything", Mary Lou McDonald has claimed.

The Sinn Fein politician called for greater garda resources to tackle the worrying spate of brutal gangland murders.

Ms McDonald said residents in the north inner city were "frightened" that more innocent people would die, Irishmirror.ie reports.

Dissident republican Michael Barr, 35, was gunned down in the Sunset House pub on Summerhill Parade around 9:30pm on Monday night.

Barr's death is the latest murder linked to the deadly feud between the Kinahan and Hutch mobs.

Another man was shot dead in his Clondalkin home just before midnight.

Gardai at the scene in the Kilcronin Estate, Clondalkin


His death is not believed to be connected to the bloody feud between the Kinahan and Hutch mobs.

Ms McDonald, who represents the constituency, said there was a "heightened sense of tension and fear among the streets".

Speaking on RTE One's Sean O'Rourke Show, she said: “There is no doubt now that there is a heightened sense of tension and of fear and of vulnerability on the streets.

"This is a phenomenon right across the city.

“It’s very very acute now in the North Inner city.”

“There is now a strong belief that these armed thugs are brazen enough to do pretty much anything with no regard for the life or security of anybody.

The Sunset House used to be known as The Blind Ref


“There is a belief that innocent passers by, people who live in the area, people who take their children to the school in the area, different clubs in the area are now vulnerable.

“People are frightened, it’s as simple as that.”

Outgoing President of the Garda Representative Association Dermot O'Brien added that gardai need to be better armed to tackle the recent gang activity.

Appearing on the same RTE One show, he explained that since 2008, there hasn't been any tactical training for special units - and revealed the first gardai to respond to the Regency shooting in February were unarmed.

Calling for change, he said: "As members in uniform we have the asp, retractable baton and pepper spray. Once we utilise those forms of force the next available form of force after that is the gun. We have nothing intermediate - the likes of tasers and beanbags."
