A homeless man in his late 20s has been found dead in Cork city.
His body was discovered on Lower Oliver Plunkett Street at about 1.30pm on Thursday following a report to gardaí.
The man’s body was removed to Cork University Hospital, where a postmortem will take place in the coming days.
He is the fourth homeless man to have died in the city this year, following the deaths of three homeless men within the space of a few weeks earlier this year.
The third man who died, in June, was also found on Lower Oliver Plunkett Street, near the rear of a Cork Simon shelter.
A Garda spokeswoman said the results of the postmortem will determine the course of the investigation, and his death was not being treated as suspicious.
‘Sincere condolences’
Homelessness charity Inner City Helping Homeless (ICHH) said it offered “sincere condolences to the man’s family and friends”.
“Word has reached us of yet another tragic death on our streets, as a man in his 20s passed away today in Cork. With an increase in the number of people on the streets right across the country we need to see proper day services available to people that are homeless,” said ICHH spokesman Brian McLoughlin.
“Intense wraparound support services are badly required to support people that are homeless with their mental health, any addiction issues and other health supports. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to deaths on our streets, as homelessness is not normal and many of these needless deaths can be avoided,” he said.