A woman in her 30s was being questioned by gardaí last night following the fatal stabbing of a man in a house in Roscrea, Co Tipperary.
Gardaí were called to a rented three-bedroom semi-detached house in the New Line area of the town at about 10.40pm on Sunday, where they found a man lying on the floor of the kitchen with a stab wound to his abdomen.
A doctor was called and the man, aged 36, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The victim was of eastern European origin and will not be named by gardaí until relatives are informed. He had been living in the house for some time with his wife and two sons, aged 14 and nine.
The children were in the house at the time of the incident.
A woman was arrested yesterday afternoon under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act and taken to Thurles Garda station where she was being questioned in relation to the matter.
She can be held for up to 24 hours.
Garda sources said they were not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.
The deceased man had been employed locally in the Ashbourne Meats plant.
The incident is believed to have occurred some time after 10pm on Sunday night. An ambulance crew was first summoned to the scene and it alerted gardaí.
The scene was cordoned off for forensic examination and the man's body remained at the scene overnight, pending the arrival of the State Pathologist, Prof Marie Cassidy.
Prof Cassidy visited the scene yesterday morning and the body was removed at lunchtime to Limerick Regional Hospital, where a postmortem was later carried out.
Supt Jim Mulligan of Roscrea Garda station, who is heading the investigation, said the family had been living in the town for a number of years. "It's a very sensitive and sad situation, local people are in shock," said Supt Mulligan.
Gardaí were conducting house-to-house inquiries in the quiet residential area yesterday.
Supt Mulligan has appealed for any witnesses to contact the gardaí.