THE head of the Irish Amateur Boxing Association has said it is "horrified" by a shooting at Bray Boxing Club which left one 50-year-old man dead and injured two others, including the father of Olympic boxing gold medallist Katie Taylor.
Fergal Carruth told RTÉ's Today programme that the IABA is "completely horrified that something like this could happen in the setting of a community sports club".
Father-of-three Bobby Messett was killed in the shooting in Co Wicklow early on Tuesday.
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Boxing coach Peter Taylor (57) was about to start a session with up to 20 people shortly before 7am when the attack happened.
He and a second man, aged 35, sustained serious injuries in the shooting.
Mr Carruth said despite speculation about a possible motive behind the attack, it had "absolutely nothing to do with boxing".
"This is a societal issue, it's not simply to do with boxing," he said.
"People have been affected through the gangland activity right throughout the country and this is just another case of an innocent person being brought into all of this."
Mr Carruth added: "The reality is that boxing is rooted in some of the most disadvantaged areas in Ireland and sometimes that can bring its own challenges".
Graham O'Neill, a neighbour of Mr Messett, said he was stunned by the fatal attack.
"The area is absolutely shocked by what happened... a very good guy, decent, hardworking man just going about his life," he said.
Mr O'Neill said Mr Messett was a keen sports enthusiast who regularly cycled with Bray Wheelers.
"You would see Bobby all over the roads of Wicklow at the weekend," he said.
