Craig Gifford: Death of young Finglas man not believed to be suspicious

Craig Gifford (21) went missing shortly after he left his house in Finglas on Wednesday afternoon.

He was last seen by gardaí on the River Road in Finglas around 2.30pm that day when officers tried to stop him but he ran away.

His body was found yesterday afternoon in undergrowth in the River Road area yesterday afternoon in the direction he went running.

While Gardai are awaiting the results of the post-mortem they do not believe Mr Gifford suffered a violent death or that his death is linked to the feud in the local area.

"There are no signs of any violence. It's unclear at this stage whether he fell and hit head or had a heart attack or something else... It does not appear to be a violent death."

Tensions continue to run high in the north Dublin suburb due to the ongoing feud which claimed the life of James Whelan earlier this month.

The Sunday World can reveal that two senior criminals who have recently become involved in the feud are prime suspects in carrying out a horrific hammer attack on a teenager on Friday.

The men, who are on the opposite side of the feud to the 'Mr Flashy' crew, attacked him near Charlestown Shopping Centre.

Local sources said they did so because they perceived him to be on friendly terms with associates of 'Mr Flashy'.

A Garda spokesperson confirmed an investigation is underway into the attack which left the teen hospitalised.

Sources said the men who carried out the attack were subsequently spotted in the Glenties Park area of Finglas with other associates and appeared to be geared up for reprisal attacks which never materialised.

One of the suspects in the attack in a man in his late 30s from the Finglas area. He has served several prison sentences for violent incidents and has also been questioned by Gardaí as part of murder inquiries.

He was arrested and later released in relation to a gangland gun attack on Karl Wynne who died in hospital seven weeks after being shot in the head and body in Tallaght in 2013.

He was also a suspect in the murder of Paul Cullen who was shot dead in Cabra House pub in Cabra in 2013.

The second man suspected of involvement in Friday's attack is a veteran criminal from Finglas who previously led an armed robbery gang and was involved in drug dealing.

He has been sucked into the feud in recent times after a juvenile closely linked to him was involved in an incident where he took a watch from a younger associate of 'Mr Flashy'.

The watch incident led to an escalation of the feud with numerous incidents between the rival factions including abductions, assaults and gun attacks.