Ballinrobe boxer caught up in gangland shooting

LUCKY ESCAPE Ballinrobe boxer had just stepped off the scales when gunmen opened fire in the Regency Hotel.

Terrifying footage shows Gary Sweeney running for cover

A Ballinrobe boxer found himself running for his life last Friday as a gangland shooting took place.
Gary Sweeney from the Bog Road in Ballinrobe. was at The Regency Hotel in Drumcondra on Friday afternoon weighing in ahead of a WBO European lightweight title, on Saturday.
It is understood six gunmen, three dressed as gardaí and one dressed in women’s clothes  stormed the room with modified, modernised AK47s known as AKMs.
Approximately 300 people including women and children were attending the event when the assassins entered the room firing shots. One well known Dublin gangland criminal was shot dead in the orchestrated hit, while two others were injured.
Terrifying footage of the chaotic scenes shows Gary stepping off the scales and running for cover realising what was taking place. The camera footage also shows people scrambling over chairs and a child can be heard in distress saying ‘Daddy, help me, Daddy, Daddy what was that?’
The former Irish national elite heavyweight champion is a younger brother of Michael ‘The Storm’ Sweeney and it is understood he was accompanied by his brother at the weigh-in on Friday.
The Regency Hotel was the setting for the Mayo senior football team’s banquet dinner following the 2012 All Ireland final and manager John Glynn is a long time associate of Mayo GAA.