An Irish family is mourning the death of their 14-year-old son who was stabbed to death on the streets of London last night.
Martin Dinnegan was stabbed to death in London last night
Martin Dinnegan, whose father James (42) is from Mullingar, Co Westmeath, was attacked by up to five boys as he walked to a youth club in Holloway just after 8.30 last night.
Police officers believed he may have been killed by robbers trying to take his mobile phone, but there were also reports that he had got involved in an altercation after looking at a gang of youths "the wrong way".
Martin, who was a St Aloysius' College student, received multiple stab wounds and attempts by emergency services to save him were unsuccessful.
Headmaster Tom Mannion, who is from Galway, told ireland.comthat he and the local priest visited the family this afternoon.
"They were so pleased to see Irishmen there. But I couldn't stay, I had to come away, it was too upsetting," he said. He said Martin's death was "harrowing" and the school was shattered by the loss.
Martin and his family regularly returned to Ireland, holidaying in Mullingar, he said. "The family name is on a memorial there."
He said Martin was a talented pupil and he had only just spoken to his Scottish mother, Lorraine, about how well her son was doing, earlier this week.
A total of 14 teenagers have died at the hands of gun and knife violence in the UK this year, while seven people have been murdered in London in the last six days.
Detectives investigating the killing said today they had found a knife in the street and were appealing for witnesses to contact them.