Three injured in gun incident

Gardaí are investigating all circumstances behind the discharge of a firearm, which resulted in the hospitalisation of three generations of the same family last weekend.

The incident occurred “during a hunt” near Cootehill last Sunday afternoon, December 15.

A grandfather, son and grandson were all taken to Cavan General Hospital following the incident and were treated for what are being described as “non-life threatening injuries”.

The youngest of those injured is in their teens, and the eldest aged in their 50s.

A spokesperson for An Garda Síochána confirmed they are investigating the incident, which happened at around 2:30pm.

“Investigations are ongoing,” say gardaí.

A person with close knowledge of what happened has described it as an “unfortunate accident”.

“They were very lucky it’s not a worse situation, so close to Christmas as well.”

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The Irish hunting season began November 1 and runs until March 31, 2025.

Dan Curley, vice chairman of the National Associations of Regional Game Councils (NARGC), the largest voluntary organisation in Ireland involved in game shooting and conservation, says there are more than 200,000 licensed firearms in Ireland.

“Thankfully reports of incidents such as the likes of that are rare,” he said.

Mr Curley adds: “The NARGC, through its regional councils, run regular gun safety and proficiency courses. This covers everything from the legislation pertaining to firearms to safe handling and use.”