Galway murder inquiry seeks witnesses to earlier row

Gardai investigating the death of a man in a stabbing incident in Galway over the weekend have appealed for witnesses to an altercation outside a city hackney company in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Supt Tony Finnerty, leading the investigation into the killing of Mr Malcolm O'Shaughnessy (22), also reissued an appeal to motorists and hostel and campsite owners who may have had contact with two men resembling "New Age travellers" acting suspiciously.

The row is said to have occurred outside the premises of the Claddagh Hackney Company, near where the stabbing occurred in William Street West at around 2 a.m. Gardai believe a number of people in the area at the time may have vital information which could help in the inquiries.

Over 50 gardai are working on the investigation into the death of Mr O'Shaughnessy of Inishannagh Park, Galway. He is believed to have been out with a group of friends when the attack occurred.

Initial inquiries suggest the men were not known to each other, and separate exchanges took place at two locations about 200 yards apart. The first occurred at Lower Dominick Street, and the second - when Mr O'Shaughnessy was stabbed - at William Street West between the city centre and Salthill.

The main suspect is said to have had a very distinctive hairstyle. Millstreet Garda station has issued a description of a man of about 5 foot 6 inches, with brown, plaited and matted hair, which was tied back and shaved over both ears. He had a "goatee" beard and sallow complexion, and was wearing a fawn-coloured poncho-style jacket at the time of the attack.