Murder victim was on way to see his mother, gardaí believe

A MAN beaten to death in Athlone is believed to have been on his way to visit his mother in Northern Ireland when he was murdered, gardaí said yesterday.

Michael Chambers, 51, originally from Portadown, Co Armagh, was repeatedly hit around the head in what the gardaí described as a brutal and vicious attack.

Gardaí yesterday appealed for information from the public and said Mr Chambers was “a bit of a character” who would have talked to people as he liked to chat.