Two of the three men arrested over the murder of an 18-year-old Dundalk man this week have been freed without charge.
Niall Dorr died in hospital on Thursday night after suffering serious head injuries in a row involving several youths.
The three men, aged 21, 23 and 30, were arrested this week and held for questioning at Dundalk and Drogheda Garda Stations under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act.
Two of the men were arrested on Thursday night on suspicion of assault causing harm to Mr Dorr. The third man was arrested yesterday afternoon.
Two were freed today and a file is to be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions. The other man is still in custody.
Mr Dorr, who had ambitions to join the Irish Army, was assaulted as he walked with two friends along Castle Road, Dundalk at about 9pm on Wednesday. It is believed the group of friends became involved in an altercation with another group of up to six men and one woman.
Gardaí investigating the murder believe there are people withholding information on the killing, including the motive, and have appealed for them to contact them.
At a press conference yesterday Garda Supt Gerry Curley, Dundalk appealed for people to come forward and talk to them and in particular a motorist who flagged down a passing patrol car.
“We are asking that motorist to contact us here at Dundalk Garda station on 042-9388470,” he said. Gardaí also want to talk to everybody who was in the Castle Road area at about 9pm on Wednesday.
Supt Curley said the Garda “are exploring all avenues”, in relation to a possible motive and “we are examining the whole lead up to the incident and all aspects of it”.
A postmortem was carried out by the State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy at the Louth County Hospital, Dundalk. Gardaí did not release the conclusions of her examination.
Supt Curley said: “I would like to thank the public for their great support, but I believe there are people who have information who have not yet come forward. I am appealing to them to do so.”
He said the investigation was ongoing and included looking at the movements of the victim in the hours before the altercation.
The road has seen heavy vehicle and pedestrian traffic this week as thousands of people travel by it on their way to attend the annual novenas to St Gerard.