A man who is believed to have been thrown off a cliff was last seen in public enjoying live music in a village pub with two people hours before his horror death.
Gardai are studying CCTV from inside the bar and believe the pair may hold vital clues on the victim's last movements.
Forensic Science Ireland were last night analysing DNA from the dead man’s relatives and samples from the body recovered near Donegal’s Slieve League on Monday morning to confirm his identity.
The Irish Mirror has learned that the man arrived at Mac’s Bar in Dunkineely, Co Donegal at 10.30pm on Saturday, June 24 with a woman and another man.
READ MORE: Gardaí suspect body found in Donegal is that of 'man thrown off cliff' after week-long saga
Sources said that they all sat together, drank around five drinks before the premises stopped serving at 12.30am.
The trio finished their drinks and left the pub at 1.10am on Sunday morning, driving away in a car in the direction of Killybegs, around 10 minutes away.
Gardai have obtained CCTV footage of the trio in the pub and outside.
A source said: “There was no sign of any tension whatsoever at that stage and in the pub there had been no issues at all with them.”
Just over an hour after leaving Dunkineely, it's suspected he same car was seen passing a pub on the route up to Slieve League, which is the far side of Killybegs.
Beyond that licensed premises, there are two routes, one to a cliff walk on the mountain and the other to Teelin pier.
Both locations were sealed off by investigators for the eight day search before the body was found on Monday.
Gardai suspect the dead man was beaten with a rock before his body was thrown over a cliff in the area.
Another source said: “It is believed the last public location the man was seen was in Dunkineely.”
Although Garda HQ have yet to confirm a murder probe, sources last night said all the resources of one are being used in the case.
A source said: “Gardai have gathered substantial evidence in this case.
“When the search was ongoing for the body, there was serious work put in by gardai in gathering that evidence. The case can now develop further with the recovery of a body.”
The evidence includes a seized car with suspected bloodstains and other CCTV footage.
A house in the vicinity of Killybegs was also closed off and searched by gardai for a number of days.
A man in his 30s and a woman in her 20s were arrested last week but later released without charge.
The dead man is originally from Northern Ireland, aged in his late 60s, but had surfaced in Donegal in the previous six weeks.
It is understood he was driving for a local truck company and living in digs accommodation.
The post-mortem took place at Letterkenny hospital yesterday morning. Gardai said they were not releasing the results of it for “operational reasons.”
A DNA sample was taken and brought to Garda HQ in Dublin for the FSI to examine.
Gardai liaised with the PSNI to make a request for a relative's DNA sample last week.
However, it’s understood two female relatives in the UK have cooperated to help to confirm his identity.
Investigators in the case have identified a woman and a man as the two major suspects.
The woman has been admitted into a medical facility in the past week, where she is being treated.
The man, who lived in the Killybegs vicinity, has moved to a different town north of Donegal.
The Irish Mirror has confirmed that he is suspected of biting a part of another man’s ear off in a vicious assault.
But as of last night, gardai had not made any fresh arrests in the case and since the recovery of the body.
Locals told how they had come to the belief that the whole case was a hoax when no body was found for such a long period.
However it is understood when a body hits the water, it could take up to nine days for it to resurface.
A source said: “The body fills with gas after eight or nine days. So it floats and resurfaces.
“But you have a small period then to recover the body before the gas is released and it sinks again.
“In this case, it took seven or eight days for it to come up and luckily they recovered it.”
A garda involved in the search operation spotted the body resurface last Sunday night.
At first light on Monday morning, gardai along with the coast guard recovered the remains.
In a statement from Garda HQ last night, it said it continues to investigate all circumstances in the case.
A spokeswoman said: “A post-mortem has been completed by the Office of the State Pathologist on the body which was recovered from the water at Slieve League yesterday morning, Monday 3rd July 2023.
“The results of the post-mortem are not being released for operational purposes.
“An incident room has been established at Ballyshannon Garda Station under the direction of a Senior Investigating Officer.”
She added: “Investigating Gardaí continue to appeal to any persons travelling in the vicinity of Slieve League/ Killybegs between the afternoon of Saturday 24th June 2023 and the evening of Sunday 25th June 2023 who observed any activity which drew their attention to come forward.
“Any road users travelling in these areas, at this time, who may have camera footage (including dash-cam) are asked to make this footage available to Gardaí.
“Anyone with any information is asked to contact Ballyshannon Garda Station on 071 985 8530, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda station.”
