A 22-YEAR-OLD man was still being questioned by gardaí last night in connection with the death of a young man in Wicklow on Friday.
John O’Brien from Delgany, who was also 22, died after he was attacked shortly before midnight.
His death followed a row at a party in a home nearby.
Gardaí were responding to a report of a fight on open ground at Charlesland, near Greystones when they discovered the body.
They found Mr O’Brien lying face down on the footpath at Farrankelly Road, which links the N11 and Greystones village. He had sustained fatal head injuries.
Emergency services were summoned and a local doctor attended the scene, but Mr O’Brien was pronounced dead at the side of the road.
The road and surrounding areas were closed off for examination and the Garda technical bureau was called.
Gardaí also sealed off an apartment at nearby Farrankelly Road for forensic examination.
The area was inaccessible until lunchtime on Saturday when the body was removed from the scene by hearse and taken to a nearby hospital.
Deputy State Pathologist Dr Michael Curtis also attended the crime scene and examined the body. A postmortem examination on the body has since revealed Mr O’Brien died as a result of a violent assault.
Gardaí have conducted house-to-house enquiries in the area close to where Mr O’Brien’s death occurred. A divisional search team also combed nearby open ground and areas around the site of the attack.
They have appealed for witnesses to come forward.
Mr O’Brien was a settled Traveller and lived in Delgany.
Last night, a Garda spokesman said they were investigating all of the circumstances surrounding Mr O’Brien’s death.
He said a 22-year-old man was still being questioned at Bray Garda station in connection with the death.
He was being detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1884 and must be released or charged this morning.
Gardaí called for anyone who was near Farrankelly Road or the Charlesland area on Friday night between 11pm and midnight to contact them.
He also asked for witnesses who were at the apartments on Farrankelly Close, a development which overlooks the scene of the attack, to contact gardaí at Bray Garda station or at any station around the country.
