Man arrested after father ‘kicked to death and stripped’

A 29-YEAR-OLD man was arrested last night in connection with the murder of a 54year-old father-of-three who died following a vicious assault in Dublin in the early hours of yesterday morning

The victim – named locally as Dermot Byrne – was found stripped naked and with serious injuries after apparently being kicked repeatedly in the head.

He was discovered lying unconscious on concrete steps leading to Fingal Community College on North Street in Swords in north county Dublin at around 3am.

Despite receiving urgent medical attention at the scene, he died there.

He is believed to have been kicked a number of times after he was punched to the ground and the injuries that are believed to have killed him were a series of kicks to his head.

Gardaí are believed to have arrested the 29-year-old man on suspicion of murder after a witness came forward and claimed the man was involved.

He was arrested in the Dublin area and was last night being held at Swords Garda Station. Mr Byrne, Fatal beating: Dermot Byrne who was described as a hard-working man who was not known to have been in trouble and could well have been mistaken for somebody else, is believed to have been stripped to protect the identify of his attackers.

They may have feared that splashes of their own blood might be found on his clothing and so they removed it.

This could indicate that the attackers are known to gardaí.

Yesterday the scene remained cordoned off. Some CCTV footage was obtained which shows some of the vicious attack taking place but more is expected to be found today.

Local Fianna Fáil TD Darragh O’Brien said his thoughts and prayers were with Mr Byrne’s family and friends.

He said: ‘This is a very tragic incident, and while the full details of what happened aren’t yet known, we all need to look after our friends on nights out.’

A spokesman for Naomh Colmcilles pool team posted condolences on Facebook, writing: ‘Hard to believe don’t even know what more to say except rest in peace Dermot you will be sadly missed by Colmcilles pool team and all who knew you.’

Local councillor Eugene Coppinger said: ‘There should be plenty of CCTV in that area so hopefully they get some evidence from that. Swords is a buzzing town with plenty of busy pubs and restaurants.’

Another local councillor Anne Devitt expressed her condolences to the family of Mr Byrne. ‘It’s very tragic. I was in shock hearing about the news. It’s so sad. I’d like to offer my sympathy to his loved ones.’

Stunned locals said the savage attack happened in a quiet part of Swords that is usually crime-free.

One woman told RTÉ News: ‘It’s very sad, very sad. It’s a very quiet area, I don’t think anything like this has ever happened here before actually.’ Gardaí are appealing for witnesses.