A man who suffered a fatal assault in Limerick city on Thursday night was beaten with a bag containing drinks bottles, gardaí believe.
The victim, who has been named locally as Michael Hayes (71), was known to his suspected attacker. The two lived close to one another in Limerick city centre.
It is understood the incident occurred following a disturbance on the street outside Mr Hayes’ home in St Michael’s Court in the Watergate area. Following a verbal altercation, Mr Hayes was severely beaten with a shopping bag containing glass alcohol bottles.
He suffered serious head injuries and was later pronounced dead in hospital. Gardaí are following a definite line of inquiry and have taken statements from eyewitnesses.
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A man aged in his 40s was arrested today and remains in Garda custody.
Two ambulances attended the scene and paramedics treated the injured man. He was then taken to the emergency department at University Hospital Limerick, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
A Garda spokesman said the Office of the State Pathologist and local coroner have been notified and a postmortem has been arranged.
Gardaí investigating the incident sealed off a scene and a forensic examination is to be carried out by members of the Garda Technical Bureau. Officers were conducting house-to-house enquiries in the area on Friday.
A man, aged in his 40s, was arrested in connection with the matter on Friday and brought to a Garda station in Limerick city.
“He is currently being detained under the provisions of Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984,” An Garda Síochána said in a statement.
Mr Hayes is understood to have lived alone and to have a number of grown up children.
Geraldine Costello, a neighbour, said Mr Hayes was a lovely person who would “always go out of his way to do a good turn for you”.
“His dog, Daisy, is crying all the time because Michael is not there,” she said. “I was only talking to [Michael] yesterday, I’m after getting an awful shock.”
The force on Friday appealed to anyone who witnessed the incident, who was in the Watergate area between 11.15pm and 12am or with camera footage, including dashcam recordings, that could assist the investigation to come forward.
Anyone with information about the matter is asked to contact Henry Street Garda station on (061) 212400, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda station.
