TAOISEACH LEO VARADKAR has said he will attend a public rally against violence in Drogheda on Saturday.
The rally is being held following the gruesome murder of 17-year-old Keane Mulready-Woods who was dismembered.
The murder is believed to be connected to a local feud.
The Mayor of Drogheda confirmed last week that he will hold a rally in the town to allow people to articulate how they feel about the ongoing feud and the killing of the teenager.
When asked by reporters today about the really, Varadkar confirmed that he would be in attendance.
“I do intend to be there,” Varadkar said.
“My office is in discussions with the Mayor of Drogheda just on the arrangements because I do want to be there to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Drogheda, but I don’t want to politicise the event in any way either,” he added.
“We just want to make sure that we have the arrangements right.”
This confirmation comes after Varadkar last week said he couldn’t commit to attending but would consider it.
Speaking last week, he said that “the nation is shocked by the depravity of the murder” and that he himself expressed his “revulsion and total condemnation” at the killing.
“I really want people to know the crime doesn’t pay, that those who are responsible for this will be brought to justice, and also to encourage anyone who does have information to give it to us because we need to secure convictions here,” he said.
Mulready-Woods’ body parts were discovered in Coolock and Drumcondra, both in north Dublin, in the past seven days.
Gardaí believe there was “no coincidence” about the location of the body parts and are probing if they were left in these areas as a warning to criminal gangs who were associated with Keane.
With reporting by Garreth MacNamee and Rónan Duffy
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