Man charged with murder of Irish woman in New York
Sarah McNally from Longford died after she was stabbed in a bar on Saturday 30 March
- Published
A man has been charged with murdering an Irish woman living in New York, police have said.
Sarah McNally, aged 41, who was originally from County Longford but living in Queens, died after she was stabbed on Saturday.
Marcin Pieciak, 36, with an address in Queens has been charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
The stabbing happened at The Céilí House Bar in Maspeth, Queens, at about 18:30 local time.
It is understood Ms McNally was working in the bar when a man stabbed her in the neck before stabbing himself in the back and neck.
Both were taken by ambulance to Elmhurst Hospital in a critical condition where Ms McNally was later pronounced dead.
Police sources have described the incident as domestic in nature, according to the BBC's US partner CBS News.
Officers from the New York Police Department arrested and charged Marcin Pieciak on Monday afternoon.
The stabbing happened in an Irish bar in Maspeth, Queens
On Tuesday, Longford councillor Martin Monaghan told BBC's Evening Extra programme that Ms McNally was a "beautiful young girl" who was well known in the town before leaving for the US.
He said she was the only daughter of a well-respected family and had been living in New York for about 10 years.
The "very tight-knit community" of Longford town "is numb at the minute, it's in a state of shock", he said.
The Irish community in New York are also said to be struggling with the news.
"We have a huge Longford base in Queens and New York in general, [everybody is] at a loss at the minute that a young soul has been taken from us," Mr Monaghan added.
It is expected a commemoration service will be held in Longford in the next few days to "bring Sarah's life to the fore".
Mr Monaghan said his thoughts and prayers were with her parents and friends and he has requested privacy for them at this time.
"It's very, very tough to lose any loved one but to lose a loved one who is so far from home really does hurt," the Fianna Fáil councillor added.