Gardaí investigate after man shot and injured in Limerick

Gardaí are investigating after a man was shot and injured in Limerick city on Saturday night.Thomas O’Neill (37), of Lenihan Avenue, Ballinacurra Weston, sustained a gunshot wound to an upper leg.The gun attack happened outside a house at Hyde Avenue, close to where O’Neill is living.O’Neill, who was identified by reliable sources, was taken from the scene in a private car to University Hospital Limerick.READ MOREHis injuries were not immediately life-threatening.The shooting occurred around 8.20pm, gardaí said.Gardaí did not identify O’Neill. A Garda spokesman said “one male was injured” in a “shooting incident”.The force has appealed for witnesses or those who may have relevant CCTV or dashcam footage to come forward.O’Neill has a substantial criminal record. He was one of four youths and an adult man who raped a woman at Cratloe Woods, Co Clare, on January 23rd, 2004.They were armed with a golf club, a screw driver, a shovel and a wheel brace, and threatened a woman and a male who had travelled to the wood.O’Neill and the others pleaded guilty to rape, false imprisonment and assault causing harm, and were jailed for a total of 31 years.At his sentencing hearing, O’Neill was described by judge Paul Carney, now deceased, as the “ringleader” and the “director of operations”, and jailed him for 10 years with the final 12 months suspended.O’Neill was released from prison in December 2025, after he served part of a two-year sentence for drugs offences, which was imposed in November 2024.O’Neill had admitted six counts under the Misuse of Drugs Act, including possession of heroin and cocaine for sale or supply, and simple possession of cocaine and heroin, at Hyde Avenue, Limerick, on dates in June 2023.