Gardaí in Cork are treating as suspicious the death of a man whose body was found with an injury, near the entrance to a city centre car park on Wednesday morning.
Investigators have requested the services of the State Pathologist’s Office to carry out a post mortem on the body of the 35-year-old man found near Parnell Place at around 11.30am.
It is understood the man's body was discovered on Merchant Street, a cul de sac off Parnell Place, near the entrance to the Merchant's Quay car park and the emergency services were alerted.
Gardaí were on Wednesday remaining tight-lipped but it is believed the man had a head injury that they found of concern and they say that they are treating the death as suspicious pending a post-mortem examination.
Gardaí say the course of their investigation will be determined by the findings of the post mortem which is scheduled to be carried out by Assistant State Pathologist, Dr Margaret Bolster on Thursday.
The man’s body was examined by Dr Bolster at the scene near the entrance to the car park before his remains were removed to Cork University Hospital for the post-mortem examination.
Garda technical experts also carried out a forensic examination of the scene as investigators began trying to piece together the man’s last known movements.
Gardaí say that the man, who availed of homeless services in the city, may have been dead at the scene for a number of days.
Investigators have identified the man, who previously lived in both Blackpool and Mayfield on Cork's northside, but they are not disclosing his name until all next of kin have been notified
Gardaí have begun harvesting CCTV footage from the area and have started interviewing those availing of homeless services to try to establish when they last saw the man alive.
It is understood Merchant Street is a fire escape route from the Merchant’s Quay car park but it is often frequented by those availing of homeless services from Cork Simon less than 300 metres away.
