Man due in court over Croke Park stabbing

Gardaí were today continuing to question a man in his 20s over the fatal stabbing of a man at a hotel at Croke Park.

Martin McLoughlin, a building labourer from Dublin, became the first murder victim of 2006 after his celebrations on New Year’s Eve ended in tragedy.

A Garda spokesman said that the man, in his 20s, had been arrested shortly before 5pm on Tuesday under section four of the Criminal Justice Act.

It is understood that he had been in contact with detectives in the murder investigation for the past two days. He is being held at Mountjoy garda station.

Mr McLoughlin, 21, from Cherrywood Park in Clondalkin, had been staying at the Jury’s Croke Park Hotel with his girlfriend and several other couples.

They had returned to the hotel after celebrating New Year’s Eve in the city centre when a row broke out at about 4am.

Mr McLoughlin suffered a stab wound to the chest during a row in a corridor in the hotel. He was taken to the intensive care unit of Dublin’s Mater Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery. He died at 7am.

The man is due to appear before a sitting of Dublin District Court this morning in connection with the murder.