ONE of the main criminals in the feuding gangs of Limerick is in a critical condition in hospital after accidentally shooting himself in the head.

Philip Collopy was thought to have been showing off his gun – a Glock pistol – at the time of the incident, garda sources said yesterday.

Detectives believe he had been cleaning the weapon and was then joking around with friends and playing Russian roulette.

Miscounting the number of rounds inside, he put the handgun to his head and pulled the trigger.

Collopy has been a key target of gardaí in the region and last year the Criminal Assets Bureau seized a €100,000 Toyota Landcruiser from him as part of the ongoing Operation Platinum.

The 29-year-old is considered one of the key members of the feuding Keane gang and was jailed for two years for violent disorder in 2003.

Collopy also narrowly avoid­ed death after an attempt was made to lure him to a meeting with his rivals as part of the abduction of Owen Treacy and gang boss Kieran Keane, also in 2003.

Kieran Keane was shot dead while Owen Treacy miraculously escaped with his life after being stabbed 17 times.

During their ordeal, Keane and Treacy refused to ring Collopy and his brother Kieran despite being tortured and gardaí believe the Collopy brothers were always the intended target.

Philip Collopy was in a critical condition yesterday at the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick after suffering what gardaí describ­ed as a "gunshot wound to the head".

Gardaí said they were treating the incident as accidental.

Members of the garda armed support unit had been on patrol in the St Mary's Park Estate in Limerick. They were alerted to the shooting by a youth who came running out of a house on St Munchin Street, where Collopy lives.

Gardaí sealed off the scene of the crime yesterday and a technical examination took place.

A Glock handgun along with ammunition was recovered at the scene as gardaí tried to piece together the moments leading up to the shooting.

Philip Collopy had dozens of convictions for minor crime and escaped without a jail sentence after threatening to shoot another man in December 2007.

Collopy and his brother Ray were given a suspended sentence of 16 months in prison after being found guilty of shouting threats at a couple in the early hours of the morning.

Collopy made a gun gesture and pointed at his head, while shouting at the man's wife Donna Cleary: "Tell Michael he's going to get a 45 [referring to a .45 calibre firearm]."