Man (54) killed in ‘savage’ attack on a street in Swords, Co Dublin

Gardaí have identified the man found dead in north Dublin in the early hours of Sunday morning and have made an arrest.

A suspect for the murder in Swords was arrested on the south side of the city at about 8.30pm.

The 29-year-old man was taken to Swords Garda station where he was being questioned this evening.

He is being detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act and could be held for up to 24 hours without charge.

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The dead man had been beaten and left to die on the street.

The man’s remains were found in Swords at 3am less than 200 metres from a main street filled with revellers leaving late night venues.

The victim has been identified as a 54-year-old local man who was married with three children. He was not known to gardaí.

The deceased had gone socialising in the Swords area on Saturday night, early into Sunday morning.

Gardaí believe he was attacked by a group of people, and beaten and kicked so severely that he died almost immediately. One source said the attack was “savage”.

Other revellers in the area raised the alarm at about 3am when they came across the deceased on North Street. He was by the roadside at concrete steps leading to Fingal Community College.

Gardaí and paramedics arrived but while efforts were made to save him, he was pronounced dead on the street at the scene.

The area was sealed off and the dead man’s body was left at the scene overnight, with gardaí deployed to prevent members of the public entering the crime scene.

The remains were examined at the scene early on Sunday by pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster before being taken from the area for a full post mortem examination.

The roads in the locality were closed from the junction of North Street and Seatown Road to North Street at the entrance to Carnegie Court Apartments.

The scene was forensically examined by members of the Garda Technical Bureau. A search for the dead man's clothing and other items the attackers might have discarded, was also carried out.

Because Swords, especially Main Street, is so busy at weekends gardaí are hopeful witnesses with significant information would be in a position to help with the inquiry.

The investigation team, based at Swords Garda station, has urged anyone with information to come forward.

Garda sources said there would have been many taxis working in the area at the time bringing people home from a night out.

They are also appealing to any drivers with dashcam footage recorded in Swords between 1.30am and 3am to contact them.

Gardaí spent much of Sunday carrying out door to door inquiries and collecting CCTV footage shot by cameras in the area.

They are anxious to piece together the dead man’s movements on the night right up to the time he was attacked. Gardaí are also hopeful the CCTV recordings will also assist in identifying the killers.

Anyone with information can contact Swords Garda Station on (01) 6664700