Murdered woman ran city centre record shop

THE woman murdered and dumped in the street earlier this week was a mother of two who ran a record shop in Dublin city centre.

Rosemary Dowling’s naked body was discovered wrapped in a duvet on Mercer Street early on Tuesday morning. A 55-year-old man, who lives near the area, was arrested yesterday in connection with the murder.

Detectives investigating the murder were preparing to arrest the man when he walked into Harcourt Terrace Garda Station and said he wanted to make a statement.

Ms Dowling, a mother of two girls, aged eight and 13, owned Star CD on Aungier Street in the south of the city, just around the corner from where her body was found.

It is believed she was killed in a flat in the area, then dragged to Mercer Street, where the body was dumped. She suffered a severe head injury, probably as a result of being hit with a hammer.

The area where the body was discovered, at the mouth of an alley just off Mercer Street, was closed off yesterday. Access to an adjacent block of flats, part of the Mercer House complex, was restricted to residents.

A downstairs flat in the complex was sealed off.

Locals said a single man in his 50s lived alone in the flat, the family home where he has lived for many years and which he once shared with his late mother.

Shopkeepers in the street said they remember Ms Dowling as a friendly, well known character.

“Everyone liked her,” said one.

It is understood her two children normally live with the dead woman’s sister outside Dublin but were regular visitors to the shop, a treasure trove packed with second-hand CDs, records, radios and instruments.

She set up the shop in its present location about two years ago after moving from another premises a short distance away.

One local shop owner said they did not notice Ms Dowling was missing as she often would not open the shop for a couple of days.

Local people reported seeing her on Monday, some hours before her body was discovered just after 4am on Tuesday morning.

While she had not been reported missing, gardaí are understood to have become concerned about her welfare after doing a canvass of the area.

Earlier in the week, gardaí issued an appeal to the public for information as they had no idea of the identity of the dead woman.

It was clear by Thursday that they suspected it was Ms Dowling and that she had been killed locally, possibly after being struck by a hammer. This was reported in some publications.

However, late on Thursday evening, senior investigator Detective Superintendent PJ Browne vigorously denied there was any truth whatsoever in any element of the reports.

Detective Superintendent Browne added the team were preparing to “check every dentist in Ireland” such was their frustration in the case.