Man stabbed to death in city centre is identified

The 34 year-old man who was stabbed to death in South Anne Street in Dublin has been named as Quam Babatunde.

Gardaí (Irish police) are making “good progress” in identifying those involved in the incident on Saturday, the Irish justice minister has said.

It happened at the junction of South Anne Street and Duke Lane Upper at about 03:00.

Jim O’Callaghan said people were not allowed to carry knives in Ireland, adding that the incident was “disgusting”.

“Carrying knives and acts of violence on the street are not acceptable in Ireland,” the Fianna Fáil politician said.

O’Callaghan said the man who died was Nigerian and was within the International Protection Accommodation Services system.

This means he was seeking asylum in the Republic of Ireland.

It is believed he was stabbed after a row between two groups of people who were out socialising.

Another man in his 30s was seriously injured in the incident and is receiving treatment for non-life threatening injuries.

O’Callaghan said people were fighting outside a nightclub and a row spilled onto the street before the “fatality and violence occurred”.

He said those involved would be tracked down by gardaí and brought to justice.

He added that gardaí had “excellent” CCTV footage of the incident.

On Saturday, the tánaiste (Irish deputy prime minister) said the fatal stabbing in Dublin city centre was “alarming, shocking and deeply concerning”.

Simon Harris told RTÉ News the incident had “caused concern for many, many people” across Dublin and beyond.

Sinn Féin’s justice spokesperson called the incident “deeply disturbing” and said it had caused great shock.

Matt Carthy said there was a “serious problem” in relation to public safety in Dublin city centre, and said that there are not enough gardaí (police) on the streets.