A man stabbed to death on the street in south Co Dublin has been named locally as 31-year-old married father Derek Reddin.
Gardaí are examining CCTV footage of the Dubliner’s killing which occurred during a street altercation among four men in Loughlinstown in the early hours of Tuesday.
Garda believe Reddin and a friend he was with knew the two men who attacked them and that there was bad feeling between them.
Reddin, Watson Drive, Killiney was known to gardaí but was not regarded as a gangland figure.
Gardai believe Reddin was walking up the street with a friend close to the junction with Cherry Court a short distance behind two other men walking in the same direction.
It appears the two men ahead then stepped into bushes or a front garden where they lay in wait for Reddin and the man he was with and ambushed them.
During the altercation Reddin was stabbed in the chest and as he fell to the ground dying the other two men ran from the scene.
Reddin’s friend alerted the emergency services, with paramedics and armed and uniform gardaí rushing to the scene. While efforts were made at the scene to save his life, Reddin was pronounced dead on the street just after midnight.
The area was sealed off and the 31-year-old’s remains were left in situ at what was a cordoned off crime scene. His body underwent a preliminary examination at the scene before being removed for full post mortem, which was expected to confirm Reddin died from a stab wound.
The postmortem carried out at Dublin City Morgue by Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster.
Garda sources said the investigation into his death was progressing and two men in their 30s were arrested in the aftermath of the killing. They were being questioned under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 at Shankill Garda station.
Detectives believe a private CCTV system on a house close to the crime scene will prove valuable evidence.
Reddin worked as a volunteer for the group You’re Not Alone, which assists people sleeping on the streets of Dublin. A short statement from the group said it was deeply saddened to hear of his killing.
“Due to the devastating news we woke up to this morning (that) one of the young members of our group died last night, we are shocked and hurt at his loss,” it said.
The group added it had decided to cancel its soup run on Friday night following the death of Reddin.
Gardaí are appealing for witnesses and those who were in the vicinity of Loughlinstown Drive between 11.30pm and 12.15am to come forward. Gardaí are also appealing to motorists with dash cam footage to make it available.
Four years ago, Reddin was jailed for three months for lashing out at and assaulting gardaí who had called to his house to arrest him.
He asked gardai to return an hour later because he did not want to be arrested while his two children were present. When the gardaí declined Reddin became violent.
He lashed out at the gardai, swung his arms at them and scratched the face of one garda as he violently resisted arrest. When he was handcuffed in the back of a Garda car after being subdued he spat in the face of one garda.
During at sentencing hearing Dun Laoghaire District Court for that matter in September 2015, the court was told Reddin was enrolled in a horticulture course and that he had no drink or drug problems.
He also had a conviction for violent disorder and was given a two-year suspended sentence for that while in his late 20s.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Shankill Garda station 01 6665900 or the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111.
