Families watch as gardaí probe killing

In the piercing morning sun, as massgoers gathered at nearby John’s Lane Church, forensic officers combed the courtyard at Oliver Bond flats in The Liberties, Dublin, for clues surrounding the fatal stabbing of a young man just hours earlier.

The voices of children and toddlers echoed from the blocks of flats surrounding the open area where the life of Lorcan O’Reilly, also known as Lorcan Rooney, was brutally ended.

From nearby Robert Emmet Close, the 21-year-old had been out celebrating Halloween night with friends. Debris and packaging from fireworks were visible signs of the partying, which ended abruptly just before 2.45am.