GARDAÍ BELIEVE they have identified those behind the murder of man who was stabbed to death outside his home in north Dublin in the early hours of yesterday morning when a party he was having descended into violence.
The dead man has been named locally as Jason “Jasper” Flannery, Cairn Court, Ballymun.
Gardaí believe the father of three, who was in his 40s, was having a party at his home into the early hours of yesterday morning when local men arrived just before 4am after leaving another party.
They joined the gathering in the Flannery family home, which some neighbours said was being held to mark the Junior Cert results of Mr Flannery’s daughter. A fight then developed inside the house, which spilled out on to the street.
Gardaí from nearby Ballymun station were called to the scene. When they arrived they found Mr Flannery’s body on the street at St Joseph’s Way, not far from his home.
He was pronounced dead and the area was sealed off as his body was left at the scene overnight.
His body was examined at the scene by a pathologist yesterday morning before being removed for a postmortem. While the results had not been released last night, Garda sources said he had been stabbed repeatedly.
A knife found during searches after the killing is believed to be the murder weapon. It was being forensically examined last night.
Detectives are trying to establish if Mr Flannery had become involved in a localised dispute of late and if this had effectively flared up into the violence that claimed his life.
Gardaí have detained two suspects, who are from the area and were known to the dead man.
The suspects are aged 30 and 21 and are being detained under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act at Ballymun station. The suspects were arrested early yesterday, one of them at the scene of the killing and the other in the local area about two hours later.
Gardaí believe a number of people became involved in the incident during which Mr Flannery was killed.
Two men and one woman were taken from the scene to the Mater hospital for treatment for stab wounds.
At least one of the injured people was still in hospital last night.
Mr Flannery’s wife and his children are believed to have witnessed the fatal stabbing, as did a number of neighbours.
Gardaí have interviewed a large number of witnesses and they believe they know the identity of those who attacked Mr Flannery and of the man who fatally stabbed him.
The area where he was found and Mr Flannery’s home were both sealed off throughout yesterday and underwent a forensic examination by members of the Garda Technical Bureau.
Gardaí said that while they were satisfied the investigation was progressing quickly and that while criminal charges were imminent, they were still keen to speak to anybody who may have witnessed the fatal attack.
