A THIRD teenager was being questioned by gardaí last night about the murder of a man who was stabbed in the head with a screwdriver at the weekend.
The arrest of the 16-year-old came as the condition of a second man stabbed in the same attack worsened.
He has been in a critical condition since being stabbed in the throat, also with a screwdriver. He remained on life support yesterday with doctors performing checks to establish levels of activity in his brain.
Both of the victims travelled to Ireland from their native Poland last year looking for work in the construction industry.
The teenager being held last night was arrested at 4pm yesterday after he presented himself to gardaí at Sundrive Road Garda station. Gardaí believe he was with at least two other teenagers at the scene of the screwdriver attack on Benbulben Road, Drimnagh, just before 7pm on Saturday.
Two other teenagers, aged 19 and 15, have already been questioned by gardaí and released without charge.
Files on their roles in the attack are being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Garda sources believe the 16-year-old arrested along with the other two teenagers formed the nucleus of the group that were at the scene of the fatal attack. The 16-year-old was being questioned at Crumlin Garda station last night. He can be held for up to 24 hours without charge.
The Polish nationals were going to shops on Benbulben Road on Saturday evening when they became involved in a minor verbal altercation with a group of local teenagers.
The victims, both in their late 20s, went into the shop with a woman friend. When one of them emerged he was stabbed in the throat by a teenager wielding a screwdriver. His friend came out and was stabbed in the back of the head.
Both men were tended to by their companion as they lay unconscious on the pavement in pools of blood. Both were taken by ambulance to St James's Hospital.
The victim stabbed in the back of the head died at the hospital on Monday. He has been named as 27-year-old Marius Szwajkos from Szczucin in Poland.
He and the other injured man had been living with a group of Polish nationals in a rented house in the Drimnagh area. Locals have described the victims as hard-working, quiet men.
A number of weapons were recovered close to the murder scene. Gardaí believe these were being carried by teenagers who were at the scene and that they were dumped when the double stabbing took place.
The weapons are being forensically examined. However, gardaí believe they have not yet recovered the murder weapon. Informed sources said, while the victims were from Poland, there was no evidence to suggest the attack was racially motivated.
The victims' families have arrived in Ireland from Poland. Accommodation has been provided by Dublin City Council. A special fund for the families has been set up at the AIB on Dublin's Naas Road.
