An investigation is under way after a 21-year-old man died following an assault in Dublin city centre in the early hours of this morning.
The man was found on Clarendon Street, which is located close to Grafton Street, in a serious condition at around 3am.
He was taken to St James's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
It is understood that he had been working as a promoter in the area, and it is believed he was stabbed a number of times after a fight broke out in the early hours of this morning.
Several scenes around Grafton Street have been preserved for forensic examination and the Office of the State Pathologist has been informed.
They include a large part of Grafton Street as well as Johnson's Court.
Coppinger Row and part of Duke street are also currently closed to the public.
At least 20 businesses in the area have closed. Some will reopen later this afternoon, while others will remain closed out of respect.
The prior of St Teresa's Carmelite Church on Clarendon Street said he was "very shocked" to learn that a young man had died so close to his church.
Fr John Grennan said the community has been "very impacted by this tragedy."
He said prayers were said for the young man and his family at this morning's Mass.
Fr Grennan said most of the area around St Teresa's had been cordoned off by gardaí but a small number of people still managed to attend Mass.
"I want to offer our compassion and prayers for what happened here," he added.
Gardaí said a Family Liaison Officer is supporting the young man's family.
Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan has been briefed on the incident and has extended his condolences to the man's family.
Gardaí are appealing for any witnesses, particularly anyone in the Grafton Street/Clarendon Street area between 2am and 3.30am and who may have camera footage, including CCTV or dash-cam, to contact Pearse Street Garda Station on 01 666 9000, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any garda station.
Watch: 'Very disturbing' - People on Grafton Street react to news of fatal assault
Labour councillor Dermot Lacey is chair of the Local Community Safety Partnership, the new structure that's been established by government to deal with community policing.
He said it was unacceptable that someone's life had been taken while they were out working.
"My understanding is that some sort of fight evolved and a young man, 21 years of age, was stabbed. The question you have to ask is why should anybody feel entitled to carry a knife into the city? I mean, that's one of the basic things that we need to tackle."
He said he understood the incident went on for some time before emergency services arrived.
Mr Lacey added: "The first task of the partnership is to develop a safety plan for this part of Dublin city, and we want to make sure that people feel safe going into the city and can justifiably feel safe going into the city, and that's not the case at the moment, they don't feel safe.
"We've had tragic incidents like the one last night, and our job is to try and work with gardaí and the other State bodies to try and tackle that."
