Dublin stabbing victim named locally as gardaí investigate feud link to attack

Irish Independent

07-07-2025

Joseph McEvoy (34), a father of two young boys and step-father to a girl, died after he was set upon at a house on Shancastle Close in Clondalkin at around 5.50am this morning.
He suffered multiple stab wounds after being attacked by another man and was rushed to hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
A suspect aged in his 40s has been arrested as part of the investigation and remains in garda custody.
Gardaí believe Mr McEvoy's murder is linked to a violent local feud which has seen over 50 incidents reported in the past year.
Detectives are also investigating a spate of attacks in the lead up to his death including an arson on a car, another vehicle being rammed, and a petrol bomb attack on a house.
Following these incidents a man arrived at the house in Shancastle Close and attacked Mr McEvoy, who suffered fatal injuries. The suspect fled the scene but was later arrested by armed gardaí.
Although Mr McEvoy was known to people involved in the feuding, he is not suspected of having any involvement in the violence himself.
One source said: 'At this stage all these reported incidents appear to be connected and are linked to a local feud in the area.
'One line of inquiry is that the fatal assault was an escalation from what happened earlier in the night'.
Quarryvale Football Club today paid tribute to Mr McEvoy, saying it is 'devastated' by the loss of their club captain.
'The nicest man you'd ever meet and an absolute warrior on the pitch. Big Joe Mac was the life of every party, and nothing will feel he same with him gone. Our thoughts and prayer are with his family at this horrible time'.
Gardaí earlier preserved the stabbing scene for examination and also cordoned off other sites in the area as they conducted house-to-house enquiries.
Members of the Garda Technical Bureau were carrying out a forensic examination of the scene.
Gardaí maintained a presence all day as floral tributes were left at the scene of the fatal attack.
In a statement gardaí said they were alerted to an incident at a home in the Shancastle area at around 5.50am on Monday.
The man was found unresponsive and brought to Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown, where he was later pronounced dead.
The scene is preserved while gardaí carry out an examination.
The Coroner and the Office of the State Pathologist have both been notified, with a postmortem set to be carried out.
A Senior Investigating Officer has been appointed to lead the investigation and an incident room has been set up at Lucan garda station.
A Family Liaison Officer will be assigned to support the family of the victim.
The man who was arrested in connection with the investigation is detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act at a garda station in the Dublin area.
Investigating gardaí are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed the incident to come forward.
They are also appealing to anyone with camera footage, including motorists with dashcam footage from the area between 5am and 6am on Monday, July 7, to contact them.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Lucan garda station on [phone], the garda confidential line on 1800 666 111, or any garda station.
Investigations are ongoing.