MAN gunned down in a suspected gangland feud after he allowed his attacker into his house may have known his killer.

The man -- named locally as Darren Falsey (37) -- was discovered with gunshot wounds in his rented Ashbourne Court home in Carrigaline, Co Cork yesterday.

The grim find was made when his partner returned from a shopping trip around 3pm.

It is believed the victim may have known his killer -- and opened his front door to unwittingly allow the attacker into the house.

He sustained at least one gunshot wound and was found lying in a pool of blood in a downstairs room.

After discovering her partner's body when she returned from shopping, the distraught woman immediately alerted paramedics and the gardai.

However, efforts to revive the victim failed and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The woman and Mr Falsey's children were last night being comforted by relatives and friends.

Gardai suspect that the killer may have had the house under surveillance yesterday morning -- and immediately called to the front door once Mr Falsey's partner and the children had left.

Togher gardai launched a murder investigation last night but stressed they were keeping an open mind about the precise motive behind the killing.

Senior officers, including Assistant Commissioners Willie Keane and Mick Finn, visited the scene last night and were briefed by Inspector Billy Duane and detectives leading the probe.

A special incident room has been set up in Togher garda station.

Mr Falsey was known to the gardai and is understood to have been associated with a major drugs gang on Cork's southside.

It is unclear whether the killing is linked to a drugs debt or a territorial feud between rival gangs.

The victim -- who is originally from Waterfall outside Cork city -- was described by Carrigaline neighbours as quiet, friendly and well-known for his interest in sports.

"I knew he was really into football and I'd see him every so often down town going into the bookies or calling into the pub when a big match was on. But he was a nice enough fella," one neighbour said.

Another woman said the family were friendly but largely kept to themselves -- and that Mr Falsey was devoted to his children and could regularly be seen playing with them in the garden.

Suspicious

Yesterday, a children's table football game was by the side of the detached estate house and a toddler's tricycle was parked in the hallway.

Gardai commenced door-to-door enquiries to determine if anyone heard or spotted anything suspicious between 1pm and 3pm yesterday when the shooting is believed to have occurred.

Inspector Billy Duane appealed to anyone with information, no matter how trivial, to contact gardai at any of the numbers listed below.

"Any piece of information may be vital and we particularly would like to talk to anyone who was walking or driving in the Ashbourne Court or Ferney (Road) areas at the time," he told the Irish Independent.

"We are treating this as a suspicious death. The body was found inside the house and the dead man was the only person there at the time."

The area was sealed off at 3pm and technical bureau experts later conducted a detailed examination of both the house and gardens.

No firearm was recovered from the scene and gardai are still trying to determine the type of vehicle used by the killer.

The body was expected to be transferred from the house to Cork University Hospitallast night, where a full post-mortem examination will be conducted today by Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster.

Gardai are also examining CCTV security camera footage from business premises in the area to try to determine vehicle movements at the time.

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