Gardai fear an England v Ireland fight was arranged after Bernard Dunne's world title defence on Saturday night, but it got completely out of control. British criminal Jason Lee Martin (41) died when weapons were produced in the mass brawl.
A second man remains in hospital this evening after being hacked with a hatchet in the Parkwest bloodbath. "It appears to have been an arranged boxing match. But it got out of control when one guy pulled a knife and then everyone else reached for weapons," said a source. Hockey sticks, a hatchet, knives and broken glasses and bottles were all used in the melee. Many of the participants had earlier been at the Dunne fight in the O2. Martin (41) was on the run in Dublin while being hunted by British police for a killing in Lancashire last year. Gardai believe he was hiding out with criminals in Ballyfermot who he previously dealt drugs to -- and was socialising with them before being stabbed in the 20-man brawl outside Hannigen's bar on Park West Road. British police are awaiting forensic results before formally identifying Martin. But a full identification is expected in the next 48 hours, and the UK Foreign Office was making contact with his family overnight. The Manchester man, Jason Lee Martin, from Grove Lane, Hale, is understood to have associated with a Ballyfermot-based crime gang since his arrival in the country. He is also suspected of using other names, both in Ireland and the UK, and this factor has delayed the official identification process. Officers were also investigating whether at least one other major Lancashire criminal was present when the violence erupted at Park West Road. Martin was heavily involved in the melee outside Hannigen's bar on Sunday morning when his local pals confronted the other mob, involving 20 men. Detectives fear the sides agreed to meet later back in Ballyfermot, and that two men -- one of whom may have been Martin -- would confront each other in an organised fight in the car park outside Hannigen's bar. Further arrests are now expected in the investigation, after the detention and release of four men for public order offences last Sunday. The men were arrested before Mr Martin passed away, as he battled for life in a Dublin hospital. They were detained for attacking gardai after officers arrived at the scene. CCTV is understood to be 'highly significant', sources said. The violence outside Hannigen's unfolded at 1.30am last Sunday when two men began fighting outside the bar. Shortly after the fight started a number of other men ran from the pub to the car park and a melee ensued. Other men at the scene are then believed to have called for back-up using mobile phones, and at least one car-load of men arrived at the scene. Gardai believe that this car also brought weapons to the scene, including a hockey stick and a hatchet. Men involved in the brawl had also equipped themselves with broken bottles taken from the bar, and knives. The fighting is believed to have last for around ten minutes, during which time Jason Martin was stabbed in the chest, sustaining a single fatal wound. A second man, in his 20s and from the Kylemore Road area of Tallaght, was also slashed in the stomach, possibly with a hatchet. His pals had pulled him into the back of a parked Toyota van at the scene, where gardai found him, seriously injured.