Gardaí are expected to launch a murder inquiry once they receive the results of a postmortem examination after a man died following an assault in north Cork early on Sunday morning.
The man, who was assaulted just outside his house in Doneraile village, some 13km from Mallow, has been named locally as 44-year-old father of four Barry Daly, who worked as a postman in Mallow.
The Irish Times reports that gardaí believe Mr Daly was attacked by men armed with a golf club after they followed him and his teenage son some 750m from the centre of Doneraile village to their home at Rockview Terrace.
It is understood the Dalys had been socialising in Eily's bar in the centre of the village earlier in the night after Doneraile had beaten Ballyclough in the North Cork Junior B hurling final on Saturday.
Gardaí believe there was a row outside the bar as the Dalys were leaving at about 1am.
The emergency services were alerted following the assault on Mr Daly as the assailants fled on foot. A team of paramedics were quickly on the scene but was unable to resuscitate him.
Mr Daly was pronounced dead at the scene at about 2am, and gardaí cordoned off the area.
Gardaí recovered a golf club, which has been removed for a forensic examination by garda technical experts for DNA or fingerprint evidence.
Assistant state pathologist Dr Margot Bolster carried out a preliminary examination of Mr Daly's body at the scene before it was removed to Cork University Hospital for a postmortem.
Dr Bolster is due to begin her postmortem on Mr Daly on Monday, and gardaí expect it to confirm that he died a violent death and will then formally upgrade their investigation to a murder inquiry.
Gardaí are seeking several suspects, all believed to be in their late teens or early 20s, from the Doneraile area. However, no arrests have been made, and inquiries are ongoing.
Detectives have begun canvassing the area for CCTV footage, and they have begun door-to-door inquiries to see if anyone witnessed either the assault on the street or the earlier row in the pub.