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.

Mr Chambers, who was murdered early on Monday morning, is believed to have stopped off in the town after travelling from the south His body was found lying face down in a pool of blood in a pedestrian tunnel under the River Shannon Bridge by gardaí at 8.10am after an anonymous phone call from a passerby.

The garda investigation was upgraded to one of murder after a post mortem showed the victim had been beaten around the head.

Mr Chambers is thought to have travelled from Mitchelstown, Co Cork, and spent the weekend in Athlone.

Gardaí described Mr Chambers as a “floater”, and said they were unsure of his last address.

They said Mr Chambers was at several locations around Athlone on Sunday night and some witnesses had seen him in a number of pubs in the town.

“He was a bit of a character and people would have remembered him if they saw him,” Sergeant Paul Cuttle said.

“He had a good head of grey or white hair, a thick white moustache and always wore a rucksack and a woolly hat. He was very chatty and spoke with a strong Northern Ireland accent.”

Anyone with information is asked to ring Athlone Garda Station at 0902-92609.