Investigation into murder of man outside Dublin pub benig 'pursued with vigour', inquest hears
Seán McCárthaigh
A Garda investigation into the murder of a man outside a pub on Dublin’s northside almost a decade ago is being “pursued with vigour,” an inquest has heard.
Darren Kearns (33) of Ashington Dale, Navan Road, Ashtown suffered several fatal gunshot wounds when confronted by a lone gunman just after leaving a restaurant with his wife, Sharon, on December 30th 2015.
The couple had been out for dinner at the Rising Phoenix restaurant located next to Cumiskey’s pub on Blackhorse Avenue near the Cabra entrance to Phoenix Park.
Detective Inspector Dara Kenny told a brief sitting of Dublin District Coroner’s Court on Thursday that the criminal investigation into Mr Kearns’ death was “continuing apace.”
He told coroner Clare Keane that he anticipated the DPP would be asked to make a prosecutorial decision in the case.
Det Insp Kenny acknowledged that the investigation had been going on for some time but he reassured Dr Keane that it was being “pursued with vigour.”
He said progress had been made since the coroner was last updated about the case a year previously.
Det Insp Kenny said he anticipated there would be further progress in the investigation if she granted his application for a further adjournment of the inquest for six months.
The inspector explained that gardaí had come into possession of evidence that had not been available at an earlier stage of the investigation which would be fed into a file due to be submitted to the DPP.
He said such evidence still required “a lot of investigative tasks.”
However, Det Insp Kenny said he hoped to be able to update the coroner about any prosecutorial decision in six months.
Dr Keane granted the application for an adjournment and listed the case for further mention on May 15, 2026.
It is understood that gardaí believe that Mr Kearns was targeted as a result of a drug-related dispute.
On the evening of the murder, the couple’s vehicle was blocked by a 04-D reg, light coloured green BMW M Series car as Ms Kearns drove out of the car park shortly after 5.30pm.
A male appeared running alongside the BMW and opened fire on Mr Kearns with a firearm he was carrying.
He jumped into the rear seat of the BMW which took off at speed without headlights from outside the pub.
The attacker’s vehicle was subsequently found burnt out a short distance away in a laneway off Regal Park, Cabra where a male was seen running to a waiting car.
The BMW used as a getaway vehicle from the pub had been bought from a car buyer’s website two months earlier by someone who had supplied false details.
Mr Kearns and his wife had left their home at around 3.30pm to go for an early evening meal with the deceased driving his wife’s Fiat 500.
They tried a number of restaurants in the area but they were closed.
They travelled along Collins Avenue in Drumcondra before deciding to turn around at Dublin City University and go to a restaurant in Finglas which was also closed.
Mr Kearns purchased petrol at Clearwater shopping centre in Finglas before they decided to try a Chinese restaurant on Blackhorse Avenue arriving there at 4.45pm.
The deceased had received a six-year prison sentence in 2012 in relation to a seizure of cannabis worth €1.8 million two years earlier but he had been granted temporary release from custody several months before the fatal shooting.
Mr Kearns had told gardaí that he had been forced to transport the drugs to reduce a €180,000 debt he had to a criminal gang which he had amassed from spending €1,000 a day on cocaine.
