Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Man ‘stabbed to death over game of chess’ in Ireland

Police found a 39-year-old man dead with multiple stab wounds, with detectives saying they believe a row over a chess move may have spiralled out of control

Adam Withnall
Sunday 12 January 2014 19:20 GMT
Detectives in Ireland say they are investigating an incident where a man was allegedly stabbed to death after row over a chess move spiralled out of control
Detectives in Ireland say they are investigating an incident where a man was allegedly stabbed to death after row over a chess move spiralled out of control (Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A man in Ireland has been stabbed to death in what detectives believe may have been a row over a late night game of chess.

Police officers were called to a house in the Castleknock suburb of north Dublin at around 1.50am this morning, and arrived to find the 39-year-old owner dead with multiple stab wounds.

A 34-year-old man from Palermo, Italy was arrested at the scene. Detectives said they believed a row had broken out over a chess move and spiralled out of control, adding that they were not currently looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.

A police source said: “It was a very unpleasant scene for our people to walk into. This was a bizarre killing and the dead man sustained substantial injuries to his body.”

It is not thought either drink or drugs were involved in the incident. A post mortem examination is yet to be carried out at the City Morgue.

The arrested man has been taken to Blanchardstown Garda station where he is being held under section four of the Criminal Justice Act.

He can be detained for up to 24 hours and detectives have until tomorrow morning to charge or release him.

The scene in Castleknock, north Dublin where Tom O'Gorman was stabbed to death
The scene in Castleknock, north Dublin where Tom O'Gorman was stabbed to death (PA)

It is understood the dead man was a former journalist with The Voice Today, a Roman Catholic newspaper.

A graduate of University College Dublin, he was more recently a researcher with the Dublin-based Catholic lobby group the Iona Institute.

The man - who has a brother and a sister - was living at the family home after his mother died in 2012. His father had also passed away, and it is believed he had taken in a lodger in recent months to help supplement his income.

Additional reporting by PA

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in