A former Westies gang member involved in a feud that has already claimed one life this year has teamed up with a psychopath who is suspected of twice trying to murder crime lord John Gilligan. Sources said David 'Gully' Goulding (38) has been frequently spotted in the company of the Finglas-based criminal.
The psychopath is the chief suspect in the two botched assassination attempts on Gilligan in December 2013 and March of last year.
"Goulding has been spending a lot of time at the Gilligan shooter's house and there's concern that the other man may now take an active part in the feud that Goulding is involved in," a source said.
Gardai are monitoring the bitter disagreement between Goulding and his former pal Jason 'Jay' O' Connor (37) as they are aware of a series of tit-for-tat threats that continue to be passed between associates of both men
The Finglas thug who has aligned himself with Goulding is a convicted armed robber who previously subjected Gilligan to a savage beating in Portlaoise Prison.
He is said to have a "pathological hatred" of the veteran criminal who fled Ireland after the latest attempt on his life at his brother's home in Clondalkin.
He is also suspected of entering the Halfway House pub on the Navan Road armed with a 9mm handgun and looking for Gilligan in December 2013.
The extremely volatile criminal was previously associated with Kevin Ledwidge, a 27-year-old Finglas criminal who was shot dead in July, 2007, as well as convicted killer David Cully (24) who was jailed for life in July for the gun murder of his uncle in December 2013.
The extremely volatile criminal was previously associated with Kevin Ledwidge, a 27-year-old Finglas criminal who was shot dead in July, 2007, as well as convicted killer David Cully (24) who was jailed for life in July for the gun murder of his uncle in December 2013.
"The fact that Goulding and this individual are spending a lot of time together is being viewed as a serious matter and is being looked at closely," the source said.
Goulding was recently released without charge after being arrested following a high-speed motorway chase.
The feud between him and O'Connor stems from a deadly falling-out between former associates in the Westies gang when the north Dublin mob imploded more than a decade ago.
Sources say that associates of O'Connor are suspected of being linked to an attack in which Goulding was shot six times as he sat in a car in Hartstown in January, 2012.
There has never been an arrest in that case, which led to a number of tit-for-tat feud incidents including a murder earlier this year and the on- going threats.
