Gardaí are exploring the possibility that the 60-year-old man stabbed to death late on Thursday may have been a victim of mistaken identity.
Detectives investigating the murder in Tallaght, Dublin, say they are keeping an open mind but can find nothing in the victim's background to suggest why somebody may have wanted him dead.
The victim, painter and decorator Michael Gallagher, was watching television in the home of his partner Sally Rogers, at Tymonville Road, when two men called to the front door just after 10pm.
When Ms Rogers answered the call she was pushed aside by the men, one of whom was brandishing a hammer while the other carried a knife.
Mr Gallagher was chased into the kitchen where he was stabbed repeatedly. Despite being rushed by ambulance to nearby Tallaght hospital he died from his injuries at about 11pm.
Ms Rogers was assaulted by the man with the hammer. Her injuries were described as minor but she was said to be in a distressed state. She was being comforted at the home of one of her children last night.
Mr Gallagher and Ms Rogers each had five children from previous relationships, but there was nobody else in the house at the time of the murder.
The two attackers fled the immediate scene on foot towards Tymon North Road. It was unclear what mode of transport, if any, they then used to leave the area.
Supt Declan Coburn of Tallaght said gardaí had only a limited description of one of the attackers. He wore a fawn-coloured jacket and was about five feet 11 inches.
The scene of the murder was sealed off on Thursday night. Searches for the murder weapon continued into the early hours of the morning and throughout yesterday. However, no weapon had been found last night.
A full technical examination was carried out and extensive house-to-house inquiries were conducted. The results of a postmortem were expected to reveal the dead man was stabbed up to six times.
Sources said all aspects of the victim's personal and work life would be investigated in an effort to identify any possible motive for his murder.
Mr Gallagher was originally from Mohill, Co Leitrim. His first wife, with whom he had three children, died some years ago.
He later remarried a Spanish woman and they settled in Tallaght. The couple had two children but separated about three years ago.
Garda sources stressed that the investigation was at an early stage and said the victim's background would take at least a number of days to fully explore. But they emphasised that Mr Gallagher was in no way linked to any form of criminal activity. He was described as a quiet man who dabbled in art in his spare time. He had a property in Mohill and had regularly travelled to Leitrim to carry out renovation work on the house in recent years.
Anybody with information is asked to contact Tallaght Garda station on (01) 6666000.
