Two of the three men who made statements to Dublin gardaí in connection with an attack on a librarian on Grafton Street last weekend are Irish Davis Cup professional tennis-players, it has emerged.
The men are Mr Seán Cooper (23), from Stillorgan, Co Dublin and Mr Stephen Nugent (21), from Kinsealy, Co Dublin.
The identity of the third man was not known.
Mr Cooper and Mr Nugent are two of Ireland's best tennis players. They were on the Davis Cup team which beat Egypt in Dublin earlier this month and played each other in the final of the Irish Indoor Championship last year.
In a statement to gardaí at Pearse Street on Monday, at least one of the men told detectives the attack had not happened in the manner suggested by recent media reports.
A source said it had been strongly denied that the attack was "random" as reports had suggested. The source indicated that at least one of the three was satisfied that CCTV footage would contradict the media's portrayal of the incident.
Mr Duggan was cycling on Grafton Street to his home in Rathmines after a night out when the attack occurred.
Mr Duggan remained in a critical but stable condition in St James's Hospital last night.
He has not regained consciousness since the attack just before 2 a.m. last Sunday. Mr Nugent and Mr Cooper, as well as a third man, voluntarily walked into Pearse Street Garda station to give statements about the incident.
The investigation is continuing, and a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecution.