Garda denies pushing man in tragic incident that led to his death

Irish Daily Mirror

a day ago

A Garda denies pushing a man who has since died after hitting his head on the ground in an incident in Dublin city centre.
The man (51) died in Dublin's Mater Hospital on Monday evening - after the alleged altercation outside the Holiday Inn on O'Connell Street in the early hours of last Friday morning. The man was alleged to have been pushed by the Garda - and the Garda Ombudsman - now known as 'Fiosru' are investigating those claims.
However sources say the tragic incident, which has been captured on CCTV, is not straightforward - and the officer who is being investigated has denied pushing the man to the ground. Sources say officers saw the man apparently urinating in public - and were telling him to move on when the incident happened. The man stumbled, sources say, and in the midst of the fall the Garda in question stated that he tried to catch him.
Amid the interaction, the man fell to the ground and struck his head off the concrete - leaving him with catastrophic injuries. Due to the fact that there was any interaction between the garda and the man - the matter was referred to Fiosru to investigate. But sources say gardai believe the footage will show that the officer was attempting to intervene with the man when he tragically fell and hit his head. The young Garda is understood to be insistent that he did not deliberately hurt the man.
The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week
The man was rushed to hospital where he was subsequently declared dead on Monday night. He is understood to be from the greater Dublin area. Fiosru have since provided the family with a liaison officer as they probe the incident. The Garda is set to be interviewed by the Independent Ombudsman- while officers look at the CCTV footage and canvass witnesses. However it is understood the Garda remains on duty and is at this point not facing any internal disciplinary proceedings.
Fiosrú is appealing for witnesses who may have been around the Holiday Inn at around 4.15am to come forward. A spokesperson said: 'Fiosrú, the Office of the Police Ombudsman, is independently investigating an incident referred by An Garda Síochána on Friday, 15 August 2025. The incident involved the serious harm of a 51 year old man. The man has now died and Fiosrú have been liaising with the Dublin City Coroner and the Office of the State Pathologist in relation to a post mortem.
'Fiosrú thanks members of the public who have already provided information on the incident and is again appealing for any witnesses to this incident to come forward. It is vital to the investigation that any persons who witnessed this serious incident contact Fiosrú. 'Fiosrú would like to hear from anyone who was in the vicinity of the Holiday Inn, O'Connell Street, Dublin 1, D01 T2X2 at approximately 04.15am on Friday, 15 August 2025, or any passing vehicles, including taxis that may have dashcam footage from that location and /or on a mobile device.
'Anyone with information which may be of assistance to this independent investigation is asked to contact Fiosrú at 0818 600 800 or info@fiosrú.ie. Fiosrú has commenced a criminal investigation into the incident pursuant to section 208(1)(b) of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act, 2024.'
The Garda Press Office have meanwhile referred all media queries about the incident to Fiosru.
Sign up to the Irish Mirror's Courts and Crime newsletter here and get breaking crime updates and news from the courts direct to your inbox.