Gardai believe the same thugs who murdered Real IRA terror chief Alan Ryan arranged for sinister graffiti to be daubed on the roof of his local church on the second anniversary of his murder.
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The Holy Trinity Church in Donaghmede was defaced with two slogans which threatened Alan's younger brother Vinny (24) while blood red graffiti which read 'Alan Ryan rot in hell' was sprayed on a wall within the church grounds.
The vandalism incidents are understood to have been carried out in the early hours of yesterday morning as tensions increase in north Dublin ahead of a planned commemoration for Ryan which is due to take place in Balgriffin graveyard on Saturday afternoon.
Bouquets
Yesterday afternoon, a group of around 20 of Ryan's family members - including Vinny-and friends went to his grave in that cemetery and laid three fresh bouquets at his grave along with a card.
Alan Ryan was shot dead by the drugs gang led by "Mr Big" on the afternoon of September 3, 2012, after a massive cash row between the two mobs which had been ongoing for over a year.
He was shot dead as he walked with friends at Grange Lodge Avenue in Clongriffin.
There have been a number of arrests in the case including a north Dublin woman based in northern Ireland who is aged in her late 20s.
The woman was picked up by detectives last month on suspicion of withholding information about Ryan's murder and a separate double killing carried out by the same gang who killed the RIRA terror chief.
Yesterday morning's vandalism is just the latest incident organised by the gangsters who had Ryan murdered.
They are suspected of destroying a car owned by his innocent brother Eoin outside the family's home in Donaghmede in April as well as desecrating Alan's grave last September ahead of a memorial march and ceremony to mark the first anniversary of his death.
Threat
And many of Alan Ryan's closest pals have been warned by gardai that their lives are under threat from the mob and one of Ryan's closest pals was even directly threatened with a handgun by 'Mr Big' in a bizarre incident in the south inner city earlier this year.
His brother Vinny Ryan is now understood to be living in Co Kildare. He was cleared last October at the Special Criminal Court of charges of charges of possession of an assault rifle and a handgun in September, 2011.
When contacted by The Herald last night, a parish worker told us that no priest was available to comment on the vandalism incident which occurred where Ryan's highly controversial paramilitary funeral took place almost two years ago.
This is the second time that gangland criminals have defaced a church in recent years. A similar incident happened ahead of the funeral of crime figure Pierce Reid at Clondalkin in August 2009.
