A man is being questioned by police in Australia in connection with the death of an Irish backpacker in Sydney.

23-year-old Gearóid Walsh from Dublin died last night after being on a life-support machine.

Last Sunday Mr Walsh was involved in a row with a man in a fast food takeaway in the suburb of Coogee in Sydney.

He sustained serious head injuries and was on a life-support machine until last night.

Police are treating the matter as a murder inquiry.

At a news conference in Sydney, Mr Walsh's mother, Tressa, said she did not blame the person who attacked her son.

Following her emotional appeal a 28-year-old man, accompanied by a solicitor, presented himself at a police station in Sydney.

He is now assisting police with their inquiries.

A post mortem examination will be carried out before Mr Walsh's body is brought back to Ireland for burial.

Mr Walsh had been in Australia for just over a month on a work visa.

He was staying with his 27-year-old brother Ciaran and his 22-year-old sister Aoife, who both live in Australia.