Man who died while sleeping rough on Dublin street identified

Postmortem to be held on body of man believed to have been an Irish national aged in his 40s

The man’s body was found on St Andrew’s Street early on Tuesday morning by a homeless organisation. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill
The man’s body was found on St Andrew’s Street early on Tuesday morning by a homeless organisation. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

Gardaí have identified a man who was found dead while sleeping rough on Dublin’s streets in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

A garda spokesman confirmed the man had been positively identified and a postmortem would be held “in due course”. The dead man is understood to have been an Irish national aged in his 40s.

Pearse Street gardaí were alerted to the discovery of the man’s body on St Andrew’s Street early on Tuesday morning by a homeless organisation. It is understood that there was no form of identification on the body.

A Department of Housing spokesperson said the discovery of the man’s body was a “tragedy” and extended sympathies to the man’s family.

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His death is understood to be the first official recorded death of a rough sleeper this year.

It comes as homeless organisations told the Government they had “profound concerns” at a potential move to tighten access to emergency accommodation, warning it would lead to an increase in rough sleeping and heightened risk of “ill health and death”.

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Kitty Holland

Kitty Holland

Kitty Holland is Social Affairs Correspondent of The Irish Times