Garda launch probes into two killings

GARDAÍ have launched separate investigations after two men were killed in a bloody start to the new year.

In Clare, a 39-year-old man was shot dead during a robbery at his home.

Sean Poland, who lived with his partner, Joanne Lyons at Blackwater, Ardnacrusha, Co Clare, was confronted by a number of men after he opened his front door shortly after 11.30pm on Tuesday night.

He was shot in the stomach. The men, who were all wearing balaclavas tied up Ms Lyons before leaving with a sum of money.

Gardaí sealed off the murder scene and questioned neighbours in the remote part of Clare. A post mortem was carried out by State Pathologist John Harbison.

In Waterford, a 28-year-old man was stabbed to death during a fight in the early hours of yesterday morning.

Gary Doyle, a single father-of-one, was walking with his partner and a group of others near his family home at Priory Lawn, Ballybeg, when he became involved in a row shortly before 3am on New Year’s Day. He was stabbed in the neck and suffered significant loss of blood. He died on the way to Waterford Regional Hospital.

Members of the Garda Technical Bureau searched a green area near where the stabbing took place for the knife used in the attack.

A file has been sent to the Director of Prosecutions following the arrest of a teenage boy in connection with the murder of a woman in Kilkenny last month.

Christine Quinn, a 36-year-old divorced mother of two, was found stabbed to death at her home at Greenfields Road, Freshford Road on December 5.

A fire had been started at the house. The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has no connection with the murdered woman. He was held at Kilkenny Garda Station for 12 hours under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act and released on Tuesday night.

Meanwhile, gardaí said that, while rain may have dampened new year’s celebrations around the country, the wet weather kept the streets relatively quiet.

Gardaí in Anglesea Street, Cork, reported a lower number of public order offences than a normal weekend night.

In Sligo, only two arrests were made. Dublin’s Pearse Street station reported a number of arrests but no major public order incidents. There were eight arrests, mainly for public order offences, in Tralee, Co Kerry.

The rain again helped keep trouble to a minimum in Limerick. “It’s always of great benefit. If you could turn that stuff on or off when you wanted to, we would have a lot less trouble,” said one Henry Street sergeant.