Court is told suspect has been forensically tied to alleged Oglaigh na hEireann murder bid

John-Jo Lynch, 24, is accused of involvement in the bid to assassinate Sean O’Reilly in the west of the city in February last year.

Prosecutors said his DNA matched a profile obtained from a hi-vis jacket, vapes and the barrel of a pistol allegedly discarded by one of the gunmen following the shooting at Bell Steel Manor.

The attack formed part of a deadly dispute within the leadership of the Oglaigh na hEireann (ONH) faction, a judge was told.

Lynch, from the Springfield Road, was arrested earlier this week after he was said to have been identified in CCTV footage of suspects leaving the scene.

The decorator appeared at Belfast Magistrates’ Court charged with attempted murder and two counts of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life.

He was refused bail and remanded in custody until next month.

Mr O’Reilly, 49, was shot twice outside a cab firm in broad daylight on February 23, 2025.

Police believe two gunmen were involved in the attempt on his life.

One of the pair opened fire as he sat in his Skoda Octavia taxi, leaving him seriously injured from wounds to his shoulder blade and collar bone.

Another two bullets lodged inside the car, the court heard.

The second gunman is thought to have brandished a faulty weapon which jammed without firing.

Crown counsel Sarah Minford said co-accused Hugh Black, 52, allegedly acted as a look-out, guiding the pair to the scene on Bell Steel Manor.

Black, of Rosehead in the city, remains in custody charged with the attempted murder of Mr O’Reilly.

“Police believe the shooting was as a result of an ongoing feud within the leadership of Oglaigh na hEireann,” Ms Minford told the court.

Defence barrister Luke Curran told the court Lynch has overcome a number of medical issues to run his own decorating business.

Denying bail, however, District Judge Anne Marshall remanded Lynch in custody until November 26.