'HE WENT BACK TO THE HOUSE TO HAVE IT OUT..BUT IT WENT HORRIBLY WRONG' Man shot dead as he went to take revenge over beating.

Byline: EOIN REYNOLDS

GUN victim Leslie Kenny was shot dead when he went to take revenge on a neighbour who had beaten him up for mugging his mum.

But the heroin addict paid with his life when his target blasted him with a licensed double-barrel shotgun.

The neighbour, described by locals as a respectable family man with two children, flipped and lashed out.

Up to a dozen neighbours in the quiet rural village of Kilrush, Co Clare, heard the chaos as it played out at 10.30am in the front garden of a house on O'Gorman Street.

Some rushed to the dying man's aid while a hysterical woman, still dressed in her pyjamas, was comforted by neighbours.

The man suspected of shooting Kenny handed himself in to gardai within hours of the killing.

The 24-year-old walked into Kilrush Garda station where he was being held last night. Officers are not looking for anyone else in relation to the shooting.

Local people said they were shocked to hear of his involvement, saying he is known as a hard worker who keeps out of trouble. But his quiet life was disturbed one month ago when 28-year-old Kenny stole his mother's purse for money to buy drugs.

When he found out Kenny was responsible for the theft he caught up with him and "gave him a hiding", a Garda source revealed.

The insider added: "It looks like Kenny went back to the house to have it out once more but it went horribly wrong."

Kenny is believed to have taken drink and drugs before launching his attack. He was shot in the garden of his neighbour's home and his body remained at the scene yesterday as gardai waited for the state pathologist.

The results of a postmortem are expected to show that he died of a gunshot wound.

Described by locals as an "unfortunate" individual, Kenny fell in with a bad crowd as a teenager and started taking drugs.

He was unemployed and well known to gardai having spent a number of stints in prison. His crimes included theft, assault and drug use. He was not a drug dealer and the killing has no link to gangland crime.

In a high-profile case in 2005 Kenny was sentenced to five months for assaulting a murderer in court.

Kenny tried to bite Raymond O'Donovan, who had strangled his girlfriend Ann Walsh to death in a church grounds in Kilrush in August that year.

He had to be restrained by gardai while the judge was ushered from the court room. Despite his criminal past, he did not have a bad reputation in Kilrush.

One of a group of young men who gathered at the scene said: " He was harmless in fairness but he was his own worst enemy.

"He was a friend of ours and he didn't deserve to die this way.

"He wasn't a bad fella. All he needed was a bit of help. We are gutted to tell you the truth."

Another local said: "He got sucked in to the drugs scene at a young age. He was very easily led and was used by other people."

Local Fine Gael councillor Ian Lynch added: "The whole community down there is in absolute shock.

"Everyone was starting to think about starting their summer's day, with the kids on holidays.

"There were reports of an altercation on the street and then people went out to find one person had been shot."

Kilrush mayor Marian McMahon Jones said: "It's an absolute, massive tragedy. The saddest part of all is is two families in a small community are going to be devastated."

Independent councillor Tom Clyne, who knew the dead man, said the area was in shock over the killing.

He added: "The place is absolutely devastated. It's just unreal."

CAPTION(S):

SEALED OFF Gardai at scene in Kilrush, Co Clare, yesterday VICTIM Heroin addict Leslie Kenny