Gardaí investigating murder of taxi-driver send knife for tests

Gardaí investigating the murder of Dundalk taxi-driver Martin Mulligan have sent for examination a knife found close to where he died.

The knife was found on the Armagh Road, just outside Dundalk, Co Louth, on Thursday morning by a local person who alerted gardaí.

A precautionary search was carried out by gardai after the find, though it is understood nothing of any evidential value was discovered.

Gardai have sent the knife for examination to determine if it is linked to the murder.

However, detectives working on the case do not believe the knife was the murder weapon.

The body of the 53-year-old, from Lower Point Road, Dundalk, was discovered by passers-by on the road a short distance from his taxi, at Carnmore, just off the Armagh Road, at 3am on September, 28th, 2015.

A postmortem found he had sustained stab wounds to the stomach and right thigh - with injuries to the aorta and right femoral artery.

Last month, gardaí said they were trying to identify two women who got a lift from the taxi driver in the early hours of that morning - at the rank on Crowe Street in Dundalk at 12.22am.

The motive for his killing remains unclear and gardaí are investigating all possibilities, including robbery.

At his funeral last year, Mr Mulligan was described as “a family man” and “hardworking”.

The chief celebrant of the funeral mass Fr Brendan Callanan said Mr Mulligan was a man who, “lovingly cared for his family, who had a sense of humour”.

He had a “love of his native place, and an interest in sport and so many other qualities that you, who knew him, knew were his trademarks”.