Eight arrested by gardai investigating Cork family feud

GardaÍ have arrested seven adults and a juvenile for questioning following an incident where it was reported shots were fired in a housing estate following a confrontation between two feuding families in the city.

The arrests happened after a group of six men wearing balaclavas and armed with slashhooks and machetes arrived in two cars into the Ravensdale Close area of Mahon on Cork’s Southside at around 5.15pm on Sunday.

It’s believed that the gang, who are members of a family from Fairhill on Cork’s Northside, were preparing to attack the home of a local Mahon family with whom they have been involved in a feud over the past few weeks.

According to gardai, they received reports that a shot was fired at the Fairhill faction and they are investigating whether it may have come from inside the house in Ravensdale Close, forcing the would be attackers to flee the scene.

The gang made their way back to Cork city centre where they were spotted by detectives from Togher and one group abandoned their car and two of them were arrested and brought to the Bridewell Garda Station for questioning.

Meanwhile gardai carried stopped a van on the Mahon Flyover near Mahon Point Shopping Centre and arrested two women who are members of the rival Mahon faction and they recovered some knives during a search of the van

The two women were taken to Gurranebraher and Mayfield Garda Stations for questioning about the earlier incident while gardai also arrested a juvenile who was with the women but he was later released without charge.

Meanwhile gardai carried out a search of the house in Ravensdale Close and recovered a series of weapons including slashhooks, machetes, hammers and pitchforks well as a number of bullet proof vests.

Gardai also arrested three men at the house following the discovery of the weapons and all three have been taken to Togher Garda Station for questioning about the weapons and the ongoing feud.

All seven adults currently in custody, two from the Fairhill family and five from the Mahon family, were arrested under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act which allows gardai detain suspects for up to 24 hours.

Nobody was injured in the incident on Sunday and gardai so far have not found any firearms but searches are continuing at the homes of the southside family in Mahon and the northside family in Fairhill.

Members of the Armed Support Unit have also been deployed to both locations and others associated with both factions as gardai work to prevent any further incidents in the ongoing feud.

Sunday’s incident follows an incident last weekend when members of the extended Mahon family were arrested after firing a shot at gardai preparing to search their house on the Rochestown Road, also on the southside of the city.

Two members of the family living at the Rochestown Road were arrested and charged and gardai objected to bail, saying because they feared that a feud between the two families would escalate if they were granted bail.