Liam Keane had glock semi-automatic pistol 13 rounds of 9mm ammunition while driving a stolen high-powered sports car on the outskirts of Limerick

Glock semi-automatic pistol which Liam Keane had in his possession when he was forced off the road and arrested by armed gardai last May was used in the shooting of McCarthy-Dundon gang member Jimmy Collins less than a fortnight before, a court heard yesterday.Liam Keane (24), the nephew of murdered crime boss Kieran Keane, pleaded guilty to possession of the glock semi-automatic pistol and 13 rounds of 9mm ammunition while driving a stolen high-powered sports car on the outskirts of Limerick on May 4 last.Mr Keane, of Singland Gardens, Ballysimon, Limerick, appeared in the Circuit Criminal Court yesterday along with his co-accused, Greg Crawford (21) originally from St Munchin's Street, St Mary's Park, Limerick, who also pleaded guilty to possession of the pistol and ammunition in suspicious circumstances at Athlunkard Road, Corbally, Co Clare.Prosecutor John O'Sullivan told Judge Carroll Moran: "This is as serious a case as there can be," and said "it was part of the serious feud in Limerick city which has resulted in the loss of a number of lives".
The court heard that the DPP's case was that the two Limerick men had the gun in their possession for serious and sinister purpose which the prosecution could not specify.Defence barristers Anthony Sammon and Brian McInerney objected to evidence concerning the "exotic history" of the handgun which linked the two men to the city's feud.Judge Moran acknowledged that the firearm was related to the feud but said he was not going "to draw any inferences that these two were involved in any other matter" than the case before him.On April 19 last, a Porsche and a silver Mazda RX 80 sports car were stolen from a home in Portmarnock, Co Dublin. Mr Keane, who was released from prison on April 18, said he bought the Mazda for €500 in Limerick to "pull birds" with.The car was forced off the road at 1.45am on May 4 by armed gardai after it failed to stop. The firearm was found in the foot well of the vehicle and was cocked and ready for use.Det Gda Thelma Watters of Mayorstone garda station said all that was needed to fire the weapon was to pull the trigger. When arrested, Mr Keane was wearing latex plastic gloves while Mr Crawford had woolen gloves on, which the prosecution claimed was to counter forensic testing.
Ballistic tests on the weapon showed that it was the same gun used to fire 14 bullets at Jimmy Collins on Hyde Road on April 23. Mr Collins, who is a member of the McCarthy-Dundon gang, was wounded in the daylight attack. Mr Keane was interviewed on six occasions. When asked why did the gangs hate each other so much, he replied: 'That's life, that's the way it goes'. In his statement read to the court, he rejected suggestions that he was going to assassinate anyone. "I was caught in Corbally. All my enemies are on the other side of town. I wasn't going to shoot anybody," he said.Mr Keane claimed to have picked the gun up in a field "out the Ballysimon way" and had it because of the way his uncle, Kieran Keane, ended up.
Mr Keane has also pleaded guilty to unauthorised possession of a 2005 Dublin registered Mazda RX on the same date.Judge Moran said he needed to consider the case very carefully before passing sentence and will give his verdict on January 20.