A man is expected to appear in court in Dublin as early as this morning in connection with the fatal stabbing of another man in the south of the city in the early hours of Saturday morning.
The victim of the attack on London Bridge Road, Sandymount, has been named as 26-year-old Mark Spellman from Dalkey, south Co Dublin.
Mr Spellman was walking from Dublin city centre after a night out with friends when he was stabbed to death.
Garda believe that as Mr Spellman walked away from the city centre in the direction of south Dublin at 2am he came across a heated row between local people in the London Bridge Road area.
He intervened in the row in an effort to calm the situation but at least one of the parties involved turned on him.
This man is from the immediate vicinity of the murder scene. He is believed to have run into a house closeby and emerged armed with a knife.
A scuffle ensued, during which Mr Spellman was fatally stabbed in the torso. Another man also sustained wounds at the scene, but these were not life-threatening.
The emergency services were alerted immediately and Mr Spellman, who was with friends at the time, was taken by ambulance to nearby St Vincent's hospital. While hospital staff worked to save his life, he was pronounced dead at 3.25am.
The other injured man was also taken from the scene to the same hospital and, after receiving treatment, stayed at the hospital overnight while under Garda surveillance. He underwent further treatment on Saturday and was well enough late in the evening to be interviewed by gardaí investigating the attack.
He was arrested at 11pm and was taken for questioning to Donnybrook Garda station. He was detained under section four of the Criminal Justice Act and can be held without charge for up to 24 hours.
He was expected to be formally charged at the station late last night in connection with the stabbing, ahead of a court appearance as early as this morning.
The murder scene, which began at London Bridge Drive and continued into London Bridge Road, underwent a full Garda technical examination.
A number of witness statements have been taken by gardaí.
Cllr Kevin Humphreys of the Labour Party, who lives on Bath Avenue close to the scene of the killing, said local people were in shock.
"Obviously there have been a lot of attacks involving stabbings in the city over the past 12 months. Most people woke up to this on Saturday morning. You don't expect to find a murder scene outside your house, do you?"
Mr Spellman's stabbing follows two similar killings in the same area in recent months.
Seán Nolan (18), Griffith Court, Fairview, Dublin, died after he was stabbed in a row on May 26th on Waterloo Road, Dublin 4.
Alan Young (19), George Reynolds House, Irishtown, Dublin, was stabbed to death on Bremen Road, Irishtown, on March 11th.
Gardaí investigating Mr Spellman's killing want to speak to anybody who was in the Bath Avenue, London Bridge Road and London Bridge Drive areas at around 2am on Saturday morning or who may have seen the altercation close to Lansdowne Tennis Club.
Gardaí can be contacted at Donnybrook Garda station on 01-6669200 or on the Garda confidential line 1800-666111.
