Two sought over stabbing may have got lift, say gardai

Gardai investigating the death of a man in Galway city during the bank holiday weekend have appealed to motorists and hostel and campsite owners who may have come into contact with two men acting suspiciously and resembling "New Age travellers".

The two, one of whom is believed to be the main suspect in the case, are believed to be in their mid-20s and may not be native to the city. They may have failed to return to their accommodation on Friday night/Saturday morning. Also, they could have tried to hitch-hike out of Galway over the weekend, according to the Garda team at Millstreet station.

Over 50 gardai are working on the investigation into the killing of Mr Malcolm O'Shaughnessy (22) of Inishannagh Park, Galway, following the stabbing at around 2 a.m. on Saturday. Mr O'Shaughnessy, who worked as an assistant with Super Valu in the city's Eyre Square shopping centre, was reported to have been out with friends when the attack occurred.

Initial inquiries suggest the men were not known to each other, and two 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.

Supt Tony Finnerty of Millstreet Garda Station, who is leading the investigation, says the main suspect had a very distinctive hairstyle. His team at Millstreet has issued a description of one man of about 5 feet 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 fawncoloured poncho-style jacket at the time of the attack.

The second man is said to be six feet tall with blond, shoulder-length hair, and was wearing faded jeans and a multi-coloured shirt over a white T-shirt.

Garda checkpoints were erected around the city yesterday, and a forensic examination of the scene was completed. The post-mortem

has identified the cause of death as shock and haemorrhage, resulting from a stab wound to the heart. Friends of Mr O'Shaughnessy hailed a car after the incident and he was taken to University College Hospital Galway, where he died several hours later.

Gardai believe the two men they are seeking in relation to the investigation did not have transport of their own.

An incident room has been set up at Millstreet Garda Station, and anyone with information is urged to contact it at (091) 538071.

Millstreet is still leading an investigation into the death of the Galway taxi-driver and mother of two, Mrs Eileen Costello-O'Shaughnessy (47), whose body was found in a laneway just beyond Claregalway, Co Galway, on December 1st last. Some 10,000 people have now been interviewed, according to Supt Finnerty.

His team is still keeping an open mind on evidence given by some of those questioned. The extensive trawl included interviews in Britain, following reports that a drug addict with a history of violent crime and a series of convictions was seen acting suspiciously in the city centre on the night of November 30th.

Witnesses saw the man harassing a student at Ceannt Station, but he eventually stopped when another woman intervened. The two women then boarded a bus, but told gardai they noticed a taxi, believed to be that driven by Mrs Costello-O'Shaughnessy, pulling in as they left.

Gardai have confirmed that Mrs Costello-O'Shaughnessy accepted a fare to Claregalway at about 8 p.m. on the Sunday night, but they have been unable to establish what happened to her from then until the following morning, when her body was discovered by a local farmer in a laneway in the townland of Knockdoemore, just off the Tuam-Galway road.

The reward for information leading to the arrest and charge in the murder case has been increased to £30,000 following the £5,000 sum announced by the Irish Crimestoppers Trust on Friday. Funded by the Dublin Chamber of Commerce in association with the gardai, the trust has offered £5,000 each for information in relation to 10 unsolved cases, including that of Mrs Costello-O'Shaughnessy.

Last year, crime statistics showed Co Galway was second only to Dublin in terms of recorded violent deaths, with seven deaths in the six months from July to December. Recently, an appeal by the Galway Labour TD, for Mr Michael D. Higgins, for additional Garda resources in the city, was turned down by the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue.

Two men questioned about the murder of Dublin woman Ms Sinead Kelly were released by gardai at the weekend. A file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.