Expectant father was stabbed to death ‘over €50’
THE fatal stabbing of a 24-yearold man, who was awaiting the birth of his first child, was sparked by a row over €50.
Gardaí hope to speak with a young man who was embroiled in a dispute with Conor Quinn (24) at Cahirmee Horse Fair and later in Mallow, Co Cork, where Mr Quinn suffered fatal injuries.
The victim sustained a single, deep stab wound to the chest, before staggering over to paramedics in an ambulance stuck in traffic. They had witnessed the entire attack on Bridge Street in Mallow at 9pm last Thursday. The killing was also captured by CCTV cameras.
Mallow gardaí launched a murder investigation after a post mortem by assistant State pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster at Cork University Hospital (CUH) confirmed that Mr Quinn met a violent death.
Gardaí declined to release the findings of the post mortem for operational reasons.
However, the Irish Independent has confirmed that Mr Quinn died from a single, deep stab wound to the chest – despite frantic efforts by paramedics to save him.
The young man was from Ballintubber East in Loughrea, Co Galway, but had been living over recent weeks in Killavullen, a small village some 10km from Mallow. He was said to have been very excited at the imminent birth of his first child.
Gardaí are investigating if the fatal attack may be linked to a minor disagreement that erupted at Cahirmee Horse Fair in Buttevant, just outside Mallow, earlier in the day between two groups of young men.
Mr Quinn had travelled back to Mallow and was out socialising with friends when the confrontation erupted on Bridge Street shortly before 9pm.
One source indicated that the row is believed to have been sparked by a dispute over €50. Seconds after approaching the ambulance crew for help, Mr Quinn collapsed onto the roadside. His assailant then fled the scene.
Gardaí have appealed to the young man to come forward.