GARDAÍ ARE investigating a fatal stabbing incident on an island off the northwest coast of Donegal at the weekend.
A 19-year-old man died in Letterkenny General Hospital on Saturday following what gardaí described as a “serious assault” at about 3am on Arranmore island.
The man, named locally as Paul Boyle, worked as a labourer on the island. It is understood he was stabbed with a glass in the neck. The incident took place in Early’s pub.
Locals in the pub rushed to Mr Boyle’s aid and tried to stem the flow of blood until members of the island’s ambulance service arrived.
It is understood two off-duty gardaí who were in the locality also helped the injured man before preserving the scene to await the arrival of Garda colleagues from the mainland.
Mr Boyle was taken from the island on the lifeboat to Burtonport and then to the intensive care unit at Letterkenny General Hospital, where he died from his injuries on Saturday morning.
Following the incident a 39-year-old man was arrested on the island and detained at Glenties Garda station under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act. He was later taken to Letterkenny General Hospital for treatment.
He remained in hospital last night and gardaí are expected to resume questioning of him today.
A postmortem was carried out yesterday and the results are expected to be communicated to the Garda today. Gardaí from the scenes of crime unit arrived on the island yesterday and the area surrounding Early’s pub was being preserved for forensic examination.
The close-knit community of Arranmore expressed shock and disbelief at the incident yesterday.
Island priest Fr John Joe Duffy called on the 550-strong community to unite in prayer and offered Mass for Mr Boyle and his family.
He described Mr Boyle as a very helpful young man with a particular interest in fishing. “He was a hard-working young man,” he said.
“The community is in a state of numbness following the incident and I would ask everyone to keep the family in their prayers. We are all in need of prayer during this tragic time.”