He and two others were in the driveway of a house on Millbrook Road in Dublin 13 when two men walked up to the house and opened fire.

Locals in the area reported that a series of shots were fired but it is not known as yet whether this was from one firearm or whether there was an exchange of gunfire.

Two men, who were injured in the shootout, were treated in hospital. Gardai arrested a man under section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act early yesterday and he was being detained at Coolock garda station.

Gardai are appealing for any members of the public who witnessed the incident to contact them as part of the murder investigation.

It is the fourth fatal shooting in the Coolock garda district in the last four months but the killings are not believed to be connected.

Last week, 42-year-old Paddy Harte was shot dead in the area after returning home from dropping his children to school. A gunman approached his car outside his Raheny home and shot him.

In early March, mother of one Donna Cleary was murdered when a gunman fired shots into the house in Coolock where she was attending a party.