THE MAN STABBED to death in Dublin city centre in the early hours of Monday morning has been named locally as 21-year-old Qayyum Balogan.

He had been attending a late night concert by the singer Famous Pluto in Bewley’s on Grafton Street before he was attacked. 

The young man was pronounced dead at St James’s Hospital after being found by emergency services suffering from stab wounds on nearby Clarendon Sreet at around 3am on Bank Holiday Monday morning.

Investigating gardaí sealed off much of the area yesterday, including a large stretch of Grafton Street, as the investigation got under way. 

The Journal has learned that a row between upwards of 20 people broke out inside the venue. 

At around 3am this spilled out into the street and at some point Qayyum Balogan tried to flee through a side entrance of Bewley’s.

He was stabbed close to this exit, sources said, and initially sustained an injury to his arm.

A woman, who was an innocent bystander, was also injured and understood to have received a non-life threatening stab wound in the melee. Gardaí have established she had nothing to do with the fight.

Forensic gardaí at the scene of the stabbing. Damien Storan Damien Storan

Stabbed multiple times 

As the chaos continued the 21-year-old fled for his life and moved in the direction of Clarendon Street, which runs parallel to Grafton Street.

It’s understood he was cornered there and stabbed multiple times in the chest. 

Garda forensic experts gathered evidence from the multiple scenes throughout Monday, taking samples and photographing exhibits on the street.

Due to the extent of the murder scene, which runs about 100 metres in length from Grafton Street to Coppinger Row to Clarendon Street, shops were closed across the area on Monday.

Detectives were gathering CCTV from shops along the route. There was also a garda search team involved in searching manholes, drains and other difficult-to-access areas for evidence. 

Qayyum Balogan, who was a student, was born in Nigeria but moved to Ireland when he was a boy. It is believed he was living in County Louth. Sources said that he had been working as a promoter and a DJ on a part-time basis. 

It is understood his mother is in Ireland and gardaí are liaising with her. His father is understood to be in Nigeria.

A similar incident a year ago in nearby South Anne Street saw Quham Babatunde die after a row spilled out from a concert in a nearby venue. 

A man is charged and before the courts in Northern Ireland in connection with that incident. A number of other people have been sentenced in courts in Ireland for their part in that incident.