Meath killing: well-known criminal Noel Duggan shot dead in car

Police are at the scene of the shooting in The Old Mill housing estate in Ratoath

An investigation is under way after a man, reportedly linked to a Dublin family caught up in a fatal feud, was shot dead in County Meath.

Noel Duggan, 57, was killed in The Old Mill housing estate in Ratoath at about 19:45 local time on Wednesday.

He was sitting in a car outside his home at the time of the attack.

Two cars were later found burnt out nearby. State broadcaster RTÉ said it had "hallmarks of a gangland" killing.

The man was shot outside a house in the Old Mill estate

However, a motive for the attack has not been confirmed.

Police held a press conference at Ashbourne Garda station on Thursday.

Supt James Cannon appealed for anyone who was in the area or who saw any cars or people near the scene of the attack to contact them.

A state pathologist attended the scene on Wednesday night and a post-mortem examination is due to be carried out later.

Mr Duggan, a well-known criminal linked to cigarette smuggling, was a friend of Dublin gangland criminal Gerry Hutch.

Mr Duggan was reportedly a friend of Dublin gangland criminal Gerry Hutch

Hutch's family was caught up in a feud that led to a hotel gun attack in February.

One man died when gunmen posing as police officers opened fire inside Dublin's Regency Hotel on 5 February, during a boxing weigh-in event.

Days later Gerry Hutch's brother, Eddie Hutch Sr, was shot dead in his Dublin flat, in a suspected reprisal for the hotel gun attack.

Their nephew, Gary Hutch, was shot dead in Spain last September, reportedly as part of the same feud.

It is not clear if the shooting of Mr Duggan was linked to the Dublin murders.