A 24-year-old man has been charged in connection with the murder of 38-year-old Patrick Gallagher who was found dead in his rented house in Ardee early yesterday morning. The man is due to appear before Dundalk District Court tomorrow morning. A second man arrested in connection with the murder has been released but a file is to be sent to the DPP. A post mortem examination carried out on the body of Mr Gallagher showed that he died from head injuries sustained in a row rather than stab wounds. Mr Gallagher had been found with a broken brush handle embedded in the chest.
Just after 2am this morning, an ambulance was called to a rented house on the Drogheda Road where Mr Gallagher's body was found. He was found lying naked on a mattress on the floor of the front room. Gardaí are now trying to establish the movements of Mr Gallagher and the woman up to the time of the killing. They have recovered a hammer from a dustbin near the house and it appears that the front door of the house was forced. Detectives are also trying to identify the man who made the 999 call to the ambulance.
