Gardaí are seeking witnesses after a man was shot dead at his home in Carrigaline, Co Cork.

A murder inquiry has commenced after Darren Falsey was killed in the rented house which he shared with his partner and one of his children. A post mortem examination is being conducted on his remains this morning by Deputy State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster.

Mr Falsey (36), a father of two, was found dead at the house at Ashbourne Court, Ferney Road, Carrigaline by his partner, Lorraine Conroy, when she returned home with the couple’s child Dylan shortly before 3pm yesterday.

Mr Falsey, who was unemployed, had been out shopping earlier in the day with Ms Conroy and their child. He was last seen alive when she dropped him home at about 2pm before she left to collect someone.

Gardaí immediately cordoned off the area and a Garda technical team was dispatched from Dublin to carry out a forensic examination of the scene.

Gardaí could find no sign of forced entry and believe that Mr Falsey was shot after he answered the front door to his killer. His body was found lying in the hallway just inside the front door. They are keeping an open mind on whether he may have known his killer.

It is understood that Mr Falsey had been shot possibly up to three times in the face and is believed to have died instantly. Gardaí recovered three bullet casings which they believe came from a semi-automatic weapon.

Detectives began door-to-door inquires along Ferney Road and in Ashbourne Court in the hope of talking to anyone who may have seen anything suspicious in the area between 1pm and 3pm. They are today examining CCTV footage from businesses in the Carrigaline to see if any suspicious activity can be detected.

They have asked anyone who might have any information to contact Togher Garda station on 021-494 7120.

Gardaí last night began collecting CCTV footage from garages and other commercial premises around Carrigaline in the hope of identifying the car or vehicle used by the killer or killers to flee.

Mr Falsey had been living at the two-storey detached house for the past four years with his partner.

He had previously lived in the Grange area of Douglas, where it is understood that his two other children from a previous relationship live with their mother.

Mr Falsey had also lived in the Wilton area of Cork city and in Ballygarvan, just outside the city. He was well known in hunting and harrier circles and it is understood that he kept a number of hunting dogs.

Mr Falsey was also known to gardaí who suspected him of involvement in drug dealing.

One Garda source said he was a significant player in the Cork drugs scene over the past 10 years or so, with an involvement in the supply of large quantities of cannabis and cocaine.

It is understood that he had previously been threatened by a gang from Limerick when living in a house in the Grange area of Douglas in 2005-2006 but gardaí were last night keeping an open mind on a possible motive for the shooting.

One Garda source said the shooting may be related to a drugs debt but it is understood that gardaí were not ruling out the possibility that Mr Falsey was shot by dissident republicans who have already admitted responsibility for the murder of two drug dealers in Cork.

In January 2010, the Real IRA claimed responsibility for the murder of convicted drug dealer Gerard Staunton, who was shot in Wilton, while last year, the Real IRA admitted responsibility for the murder of Kieran O’Flynn in Dublin Hill in June 2001.