Americans sought in Galway stabbing

By Andrew Bushe

DUBLIN — Two Americans from the West Coast are the prime suspects in the hunt for the killers of a young Galwayman who was stabbed in a bank holiday incident in the city in August.

Malcolm O’Shaughnessy, 22, of Inishannagh Park, Galway, died after being stabbed in the heart after altercations with the two men, who were described at the time as "New Age Travelers."

O’Shaughnessy, who worked in the Super Valu shop in the city’s Eyre Square, had left a nightclub with friends in the early hours of Aug. 5.

Two confrontations with the killers then occurred about 200 yards apart.

The first happened at Lower Dominick Street and the second, when O’Shaughnessy was stabbed, happened at William Street West between the city center and Salthill.

One man was described as 5-foot-6 with brown plaited and matted hair, which was tied back and shaved over both ears. He has a goatee beard and a sallow complexion and was wearing a fawn-colored poncho-style jacket.

The second man was described as 6 feet tall with blond shoulder-length hair and was wearing faded jeans and a multi-colored shirt over a T-shirt.

Both men are in their early 20s.

Garda sources said two American backpackers from the West Coast who had been visiting Ireland on holiday are the main suspects in the case.

One has been spoken to by U.S. police but the other man has not been found.