Three men were in Garda custody last night after the discovery of a man's body in Carlingford, Co Louth, yesterday afternoon, write Elaine Keoghin Carlingford and Gordon Deeganin Ennis.
The body of the man in his 30s, who is believed to be from the area, was found close to a caravan beside a house under construction on an elevated site overlooking the village and Carlingford Lough.
News of this fatal attack came as details were coming in of the stabbing to death on Saturday night of Michael Doherty (14) in Ennis outside a fast-food outlet.
At the family home on Kilrush Road yesterday, his father, John Doherty, said: "Michael went into Supermac's to buy a bag of chips with a friend. Some fella came up to Michael, but Michael walked away saying 'I don't want any trouble', but then there was some pushing and Michael was stabbed. A fight was picked on him for no reason and he was killed for no reason."
In Co Louth last night, Carlingford gardaí would not confirm whether the victim had been stabbed as initially reported. The alarm was raised after a number of phone calls were made to Dundalk Garda station at about 4.30pm.
The scene was sealed off and the deputy State Pathologist Michael Curtis was expected to examine it late last night. A postmortem is expected to take place today.
The three men in custody are aged 28, 29 and 46, and were arrested for questioning in relation to the death. They were taken to Dundalk Garda station and detained under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act. A short time later the 46- year-old man was taken to hospital for treatment for minor injuries.
Supt Jim Sheridan, Dundalk, has appealed for anyone with information to contact gardaí in Dundalk.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene in Carlingford. Mountain Park, where he was found, has breathtaking views over Carlingford Lough and across to Northern Ireland. Carlingford is a medieval village and former winner of the Tidy Towns competition.