GARDAÍ INVESTIGATING the death of a 51-year-old father of two following a fight outside a pub were last night studying the results of a postmortem which showed he suffered a stab wound to the back.
Gerard Delaney, from Mahon, suffered blunt force trauma to the head and at least one stab wound in the fight outside the Manhattan Bar on Lower Friar’s Walk in Cork at about 12.30am yesterday.
Mr Delaney had gone by car to the bar with at least two other men armed with baseball bats and had attacked a group of about 20 people in the pub before they were forced to retreat.
The group was then attacked by the larger group outside the pub. Mr Delaney was struck on the head and stabbed during the fracas, which spilled on to Tramore Road and Connolly Road.
The smaller group, which may have numbered up to five, managed to make their escape and Mr Delaney’s associates took him by car to a house on Plunkett Road in Ballyphehane.
Mr Delaney appeared to be lucid despite his injuries, but suddenly took seriously ill and his friends took him to Cork University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
A man and woman from the other group were taken by ambulance to the Mercy University Hospital but were later discharged after receiving treatment for their injuries.
Gardaí had been called to the scene of the fight, which lasted just a few minutes, and arrested two men in their 20s outside the bar for public order offences.
They were taken to Togher Garda station but were later released. Gardaí plan to interview them at a later stage in connection with the fight that led to Mr Delaney’s death.
Gardaí under Supt Charlie Barry of Togher Garda station began an investigation and cordoned off the scene outside the Manhattan Bar for a forensic examination by technical experts.
They recovered a number of baseball bats and pickaxe handles and a knife near the scene, but have yet to confirm it was the weapon used to stab Mr Delaney.
They removed some CCTV footage from premises in the area and have begun examining it in a bid to identify who was involved in the fatal assault on Mr Delaney.
Supt Barry said gardaí had carried out door-to-door inquiries in the area, and appealed to anyone who could assist them to contact a special incident room at Togher station on 021-4947129.
Gardaí believe the incident is linked to an ongoing feud between two factions based on the southside of Cork city and was triggered by an earlier incident in Quirky’s pub in Ballyphehane.
Two men from one faction went into the bar at 9.30pm and made some comments about the other group, including relatives of Mr Delaney, who went and armed themselves with baseball bats.
Mr Delaney was not in Quirky’s pub when the original incident took place, but he then travelled by car with his associates to the Manhattan Bar.
The feud dates back at least to February 7th last when a row broke out between Mr Delaney’s brother Finbarr Delaney and a woman in the Grafton Bar in Cork city centre.
Two men followed Finbarr Delaney (46) to his home at Plunkett Road in Ballyphehane and attacked him with a slash hook and he ended up in a critical condition in Cork University Hospital.
Last month at Cork Circuit Criminal Court, Robert Crinnion (26), from Blackwater Grove, Togher, pleaded guilty to assault causing serious harm to Finbarr Delaney, and was jailed for 10 years.
Mr Crinnion’s father Michael was shot dead in the Three Ones pubo Barrack Street in Cork in April 1995. No one was ever charged with the killing.