Gardaí seize shotgun linked to execution-style killing of Paul O’Connor in Co Cork

Detectives retrieved a dismantled shotgun from a concealed lever-operated compartment in a vehicle parked in Mallow, using a sniffer dog, and have forwarded it for forensic examination to verify its link to the murder of Paul “Bosco” O’Connor. The hidden compartment also held cocaine, which police suspect ties to the homicide. O’Connor, 56, was discovered dead on the banks of the Blackwater near Ballyellis on October 15, having been shot in the back of the head and face with a shotgun, according to the state pathologist.

CCTV footage placed him arriving by train from Kent station in Cork City on the evening of October 14 and heading toward a house close to where his body was found. Gardaí have detained a woman in her 40s at Cobh Garda station and a man in his 30s at Mallow Garda station under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act while continuing their investigation. The victim, who had prior armed-robbery and assault convictions, is survived by his brother Terry and sisters Mary and Valerie.