Dublin murder inquiry initiated

A murder investigation was under way last night following the death of a woman in Dublin's south inner city early yesterday.

The woman's body was found in the bedroom of her flat in Fatima Mansions, in Dolphin's Barn, Dublin. A post-mortem revealed she had died as a result of injuries to the head.

It is understood Ms Cathy Mullins (43) was found in the ground-floor flat, in the H block of Fatima Mansions, sometime after midnight. A Garda spokesman said she was not alone in the flat on Saturday night. Gardai were called to the flat at about 1 a.m. by the Dublin ambulance service.

The woman's body was removed to the city morgue, where the State Pathologist, Dr John Harbison, carried out the post-mortem yesterday.

The scene was preserved for examination by Garda technical experts.

Ms Mullins was married but separated, subsequently living with another man. It is understood her sister was also in the flat on Saturday night.

No one has been arrested, though gardai say a number of people are being interviewed. Meanwhile, gardai in west Cork have said that the death of a 35-year-old man in a fire in a caravan at Lyre, near Clonakilty, on Saturday was not suspicious. The man was single and lived alone in the caravan, adjacent to his house, which he was renovating. Gardai believe the blaze may have been started by a gas fire.

It is understood that the man was dead by the time rescue services arrived at the scene at around 11 p.m.