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.

Many of the flats are heavily decorated with hanging skeletons and ghosts and festooned with happy Halloween banners and signs.

Mr O’Reilly was, accordiing to local sources, “an innocent young fella” and a “decent young lad” and a “lovely” individual.

There was “nothing” on the garda system about him and criminal activity.

Mothers sat out with their daughters and sons and watched the garda technical bureau experts slowly and methodically conduct their work, aided by the clear bright blue sky. Uniformed gardaí protected the cordoned entrances to the stepped courtyard. On the upper levels, grandmothers leaned on the balconies and surveyed the area.

Mr O’Reilly was with a small group of friends, who were among a wider group of 15-20 young people in the courtyard at the time.

Gardaí are trying to identify who was there, but, it is understood, that few people have come forward offering any assistance.

There are CCTV cameras in the complex, but it’s not clear if they are functioning.

Amid the tragedy, neighbours greeted each other cheerfully yesterday morning. However, very few were willing to talk to the media. At one stage the Irish Examiner was repeatedly threatened by a group of young men and told to leave.

Just yards from the stabbing, parents sat out front with their toddlers, while, in the distance, the distinctive bells of Christchurch Cathedral pealed.