Gardaí hope CCTV will identify killers

GARDAÍ investigating the murder of a Co Kildare man attacked by at least half a dozen youths at the weekend expect CCTV footage from nearby business premises will identify the members of the gang.

Oliver Lacey died in hospital hours after receiving a savage beating in the front garden of his home in Leixlip, Co Kildare, shortly after midnight on Friday night.

The 51-year-old widower and father of two grown-up sons had apparently gone outside after hearing shouts when he stumbled into a row between local youths.

It is believed he stepped in to shield two young men who were trying to hide from the rest of the gang in his garden when he was set upon in a sustained attack lasting some minutes before being left slumped on the driveway.

The gang fled when emergency services were called, and Mr Lacey was rushed to James Connolly Memorial Hospital in Blanchardstown but he did not recover consciousness and was pronounced dead seven hours later.

Gardaí are confident the gang’s movements prior to the attack were captured on security cameras around Leixlip. Mr Lacey’s home on the Celbridge Road is only a short distance from the town centre and just a hundred yards from a filling station, grocery shop and a bed and breakfast.

The road, a residential area, also serves several new housing estates and the Hewlett Packard computer plant and is busy with passing motorists and pedestrian traffic at almost all times of the day and night.

Detectives also believe there were numerous people out socialising in the town on Friday night who witnessed the start of the original row or saw it develop as the crowd moved along Celbridge Road. It is believed as many as 10 or 12 youths could have been involved at the start.

Paul Kelly, a Fianna Fáil councillor who lives in Leixlip, said the community was “hugely shocked” by the killing. “Nothing like this has ever happened before in Leixlip,” he said.

He said public representatives had been calling for more policing resources in Leixlip for several years because of concerns about trouble at weekends and anti-social behaviour in the fast-growing town.

Deputy State Pathologist Dr Michael Curtis carried out a post-mortem examination on Mr Lacey on Saturday but gardaí said they were not releasing the results for operational reasons.

They would not comment on suggestions that Mr Lacey received blows with a blunt instrument during the attack.

Anyone with information is asked to call the incident room at Lucan Garda Station on 01-6667373.