Gardaí are working to establish the motive behind an attack that left a man dead in Dublin’s north inner city. 

Named locally as Jamie Bailey, the 38-year-old was originally from Limerick but had been living in the capital for several years. 

It is understood that he died after a brutal assault in the early hours of Sunday morning and his body was found injured on the footpath of Blackhorse Avenue by a passerby. 

“It was the passerby who notified Gardaí and the emergency services to this injured man,” journalist Conor Feehan explained on Newstalk Breakfast. 

“The section where he was found was just between Blackhorse Grove and Glen Bay Road, which is at the North Circular Road end of Blackhorse Avenue. 

“The man, who's been named since locally as Jamie Bailey, was taken to hospital and it was there then that he was pronounced dead.”

The area around Blackhorse Avenue was immediately sealed off by Gardaí, who are now examining local CCTV footage from a shop. 

Any witnesses have been asked to contact Bridewell Garda Station. 

It is thought that Mr Bailey knew people in the Blackhorse Avenue area where he was attacked. 

“It's the early days of the investigation,” Mr Feehan said. 

“But they are trying to investigate if he had a disagreement with somebody in the area or if this particular attack might have stemmed from a previous recent incident.”

Main image: Gardaí. Picture by: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie.