Man died 'from single stab wound'

A man found murdered in a Dublin apartment died from a single stab wound, gardaí said today.

Detectives said the investigation into 50-year-old Finbar Dennehy's killing was complex and sensitive.

His body was found on Wednesday afternoon in his apartment in the affluent suburb of Clontarf in the northside of the city.

Investigating officers criticised some media reports about the allegedly bizarre circumstances in which the single man's body was discovered at the Merchamp apartments, on Seafield Road East.

The retired Cadbury's chocolate company employee was believed to have been last seen alive on Saturday night or early Sunday morning.

His family formally identified his remains today and are helping detectives with their inquiries.

He had grown up in London before moving to Dublin where he has been living in Clontarf for the last 40 years, according to gardaí.

Inspector Eddie Hyland, of Raheny Garda Station, insisted they were keeping an open mind about the case.

"The investigation is fairly complex at this stage," he said.

"Because it's a complex murder inquiry we are keeping a very open mind on the investigation, so we have a number of avenues [of inquiry]."

Detectives at Clontarf Garda Station along with colleagues at the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation are scouring CCTV footage and making door-to-door inquiries.

Deputy state pathologist Michael Curtis carried out a full post mortem examination on the body last night which showed Mr Dennehy died from a single stab wound.

Inspector Hyland said gardaí would like to hear from anyone who saw anything suspicious around the Merchamp apartments between Sunday and Wednesday.

Mr Dennehy's body was found by a friend who had a key to the apartment and was concerned that he had not been seen for some days.

Neighbours claimed that the dead man was found lying on a couch and his body was covered with a sheet.

Inspector Hyland added: "The [Garda] Technical Bureau are at the scene, house to house inquiries are ongoing and we would appreciate if anyone who has witnessed anything unusual in the area contact us."

He stressed that any contact would be treated as confidential.