Press Association
Ed Carty
A man was shot and left for dead on a remote mountain in the Irish Republic after being attacked by suspected drug dealers. Liam McGinley, aged 28, was wounded in the side by a shotgun blast but managed to struggle to the safety of a nearby house. He was dumped on the dirt track in Co Donegal and was tonight being treated in intensive care after being transferred to Dublin's Mater Hospital.
Politicians said they were alarmed by the shooting.
Gerry McMonagle, a Sinn Fein councillor and member of the Letterkenny Joint Policing Partnership, said the gun attack was very worrying.
"It's a very strange shooting to say the least. It's not a normal occurrence in this area, in the early hours of the morning, someone being shot in a very rural area of Donegal that doesn't come from there," he said.
Mr McMonagle said speculation the gun attack was linked to the drugs trade was cause for concern.
"If it is drug-related it's very worrying," he said.
"I wouldn't like to speculate but if that's what people are saying it would very much be the first drug-related shooting in Donegal."
Seriously wounded, Mr McGinley was dumped near a handful of houses on a remote track on the edge of the wild Derryveagh Mountains, near the village of Churchill, at around 2am.
It is understood he suffered severe pellet wounds from a shotgun blast.
It is believed Mr McGinley may have been abducted and shot before being dumped in the remote area or may have been lured there by his attackers. Detectives are waiting to interview him.
After being left for dead he struggled a short distance to the home of an elderly man who brought him to a local taxi driver who took him to Letterkenny General Hospital.
Gardai said medics in the A&E unit notified them at around 2.30am.
Mr McGinley underwent emergency surgery for several hours and a spokeswoman for the hospital said he was ill but stable and was being transferred to the Mater Hospital in Dublin.
His injuries are not life threatening.
Mr McGinley was originally from Falcarragh in the north of the county but had been living in Letterkenny for some time - around 16km (10 miles) from where he was found shot and dumped
There was speculation in the local area that Mr McGinley was attacked by criminals linked to the drugs trade.
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