ONE of the two Carlisle men wanted for questioning in the Ryan Kirkpatrick murder investigation will be returned to the UK, a judge has ruled.

After a hearing at the High Court in Dublin today, Ms Justice Caroline Biggs ruled that Liam Porter, 32, should be surrendered to the UK authorities, though precisely when that will happen has yet to be clarified.

The extradition case against the second suspect, 29-year-old Kane Hull, is likely to be decided on Monday.

Mr Kirkpatrick, 24, died on September 18 last year after he was fatally stabbed at Carlyle's Court in the city centre.

Despite desperate efforts to save him, he died at the scene.

Detectives have said that they believe the killing was the result of a "targeted attack."

Today's High Court ruling against Porter has come after a series of contested hearings, at which lawyers for both sides advanced their arguments.

He and Hull have been held in custody since they were detained on European arrest warrants in September last year.

The lawyers representing Hull and Porter argued that the men should not be surrendered because of what they claimed was a lack of clarity on the legal case the men may face in the UK.

Both Hull, of Bower Street, Carlisle, and Porter, of Fulmer Place, Carlisle, appeared before Ms Justice Caroline Biggs at the High Court this afternoon for their latest extradition hearing.

Though the judge ordered the surrender of Porter to authorities in the UK, Hull's case was adjourned until Monday.

Returning her judgement, Ms Justice Biggs spoke about the potential for each man to face charges of murder and manslaughter in the UK.

The court heard details of what investigators suspect each man may have done, though for legal reasons the News & Star is not reporting this.

It was alleged that both men left England together, arriving first in Northern Ireland before their September 2021 arrest in County Mayo.

Ms Justice Biggs said the UK authorities had now clarified the reasons for the extradition application sufficiently to remove any ambiguity that might prevent surrender.

On September 27 last year, at Carlisle's Rickergate Magistrates' Court, arrest warrants were issued for Hull and Porter in relation to the police request to question them about events surrounding Mr Kirkpatrick's death.

Both men first appeared before the High Court on September 29, after being arrested on foot under so-called Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA) warrants.

By mid-October last year, Cumbria Police had made 13 arrests in connection with the tragedy.

Several people were arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.

The county's most senior detective, Det Chief Supt Dean Holden, said that "strong evidence" about the killing had been gathered.

He said he was confident that the suspects in Dublin would be successfully extradited.

Mr Kirkpatrick's family described him as the "light" of their lives, and said he had been "beautiful, kind and caring."

It is not clear at this time whether or not Porter can lodge an appeal against the judge's ruling.