A MAN has been killed and two other people seriously injured in unrelated knife attacks in counties Meath and Louth.
Gardaí have arrested two men for questioning about the fatal stabbing in Co Meath.
A suspect has been identified for the attack in Co Louth that left a man and woman seriously injured following a double stabbing.
In the fatal incident, gardaí in Trim, Co Meath, were alerted at 1 am yesterday to a disturbance at a house in Rathmolyon near Enfield.
When they arrived at the scene they discovered a man with stab wounds. The 25-year-old was taken by ambulance to Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown, Dublin.
Efforts to save him failed and he was pronounced dead a short time later. The deceased, who is from Poland, had been living and working in Ireland for some time. He was at the house in Rathmolyon with at least six other people, all of whom were friends from Poland.
A row broke out between a number of those at the social gathering and the victim was stabbed.
Two of the group, men aged 29 and 59, were arrested for questioning under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act. They were taken to Trim and Navan Garda stations, where they were still being held last night.
The four other people in the house at the time of the stabbing have come forward. They have been interviewed by gardaí but none has been arrested.
They gave statements about the incident during interviews at Trim, Navan and Blanchardstown Garda stations.
The dead man has been identified and his family in Poland have been informed of his murder.
The house where the fatal attack occurred was sealed off when gardaí arrived at the scene early yesterday morning.
It remained sealed off overnight and underwent a forensic examination throughout yesterday by members of the Garda Technical Bureau. Garda sources said criminal charges are expected today.
In the second of yesterday’s stabbings, gardaí were called to an apartment in Drogheda, Co Louth, just after 2pm.
When gardaí arrived at the scene at Fitzwilliam Court, Dyer Street, they found a man with a number of stab wounds in a critical condition.
His partner had also been stabbed, but was less seriously injured.
Gardaí believe a man known to the female victim called to the apartment and attacked her and her partner because he was unhappy about the nature of the couple’s relationship. Both victims were stabbed in the stomach.
The attacker then fled the scene and was being sought by gardaí last night. The injured man and woman, who are from Pakistan, were taken to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital. The victims, who are both in their early 30s, were still receiving medical treatment at the hospital last night.
The man was described as being critically ill while his partner’s condition was described as “stable”. Gardaí believe the suspect has been living in Dublin and may have fled back to the city after carrying out the attack.