Dublin man died from face, neck and head injuries after prison assault, inquest told
Martin Salinger, a 43-year-old horse and carriage driver originally from The Liberties in Dublin, had been on remand in Cloverhill Prison, having been charged two months before his death in connection with drugs and firearms offences.
Mr Salinger was discovered unresponsive in his cell on the morning of October 5th, 2024 and was pronounced deceased after suffering fatal wounds.
Three prisoners were in the two-man cell when the fatal incident occurred. One of the two other prisoners sustained injuries in the row, which is understood to have involved a makeshift weapon, and was treated in the prison infirmary.
READ MORE
A brief sitting of Dublin District Coroner's Court on Thursday heard that Mr Salinger had to be identified by fingerprint and not by a visual manner following his death.
Det Garda James Cunningham of the Garda National Technical Bureau said Mr Salinger's body was removed from his cell on the morning of October 5th and taken by gardaí to Dublin City Mortuary.
Mr Cunningham told coroner Dr Cróna Gallagher that he took a set of finger and palm prints from Mr Salinger later that day following a postmortem.
Dr Gallagher noted that the finger and palm prints were subsequently compared with a database and confirmed by Dr Kim Connick of Forensic Science Ireland.
Mr Salinger's medical cause of death was noted by Dr Gallagher as blunt force head, neck and face injuries.
As criminal proceedings have commenced in relation to Mr Salinger's death, a request for the inquest to be adjourned was granted.
Separately, an inquest into the death of Croatian man Josip Štrok, a 31-year-old carpenter who lived in central Dublin, was opened on Thursday.
A brief sitting heard that Mr Štrok died as a result of blunt force head injuries.
Mr Štrok died four days after suffering severe head injuries at Grange View Way, Clondalkin, on March 30th last year.
His mother, Julia Štrok Underwood, attended the hearing remotely and gave evidence that she identified the body of her son at Tallaght University Hospital's intensive care unit on the day of his death.
Detective inspector Padraig Boyce requested an adjournment of the inquest as criminal proceedings have commenced, which was granted by Dr Gallagher.
Mark Lee (43), Connor Rafferty (20) and Anthony Delappe (18) have all been charged with Mr Štrok's murder.
Dr Gallagher offered her 'sincere sympathies' to Ms Štrok Underwood on her son's 'very sad death.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
7 hours ago
- Irish Times
Murdered railway worker Ian Walsh is remembered at funeral service
The family of murdered Irish Rail employee Ian Walsh, who was found stabbed to death in his Tipperary home, gathered on Tuesday at a simple cremation service. A signaller based at Kent Station in Cork city, Mr Walsh was a railway enthusiast who also helped organise tours for others keenly interested in trains. Friends he had made while promoting Ireland's railway heritage were among dozens of mourners. The cremation took place to some of Mr Walsh's favourite songs including recordings of Christy Moore's Lisdoonvarna, the Saw Doctors' N17 and Queen's Breakthru, the video for which featured the band performing on a speeding train and open-top carriage. READ MORE A native of Co Waterford, Mr Walsh is survived by his mother Breda Forristal, brother Paul, uncle Mick Forristal and extended family. The cremation service took place at the Island Crematorium in Ringaskiddy near Cork Harbour. Mr Walsh was found with stab wounds to the torso in a downstairs room of his home at Ravenswood Estate in Carrick-on-Suir by gardaí and family members when they called to check on him at around 3.30am on August 4th. Gardaí launched a murder investigation after a postmortem examination by State Pathologist Dr Yvonne McCartney at University Hospital Waterford. An incident room was established in Clonmel following the postmortem results. So far gardaí have taken more than 100 witness statements, including ones from friends and neighbours, in an attempt to piece together Mr Walsh's last known movements. Gardaí are also continuing to trawl through hundreds of hours of CCTV footage from homes and commercial premises throughout Carrick-on Suir, including the Ravenwood and Cregg Road area as well as the town centre and approach roads. Officers are examining social media platforms for posts that may shed light on who would have wanted to kill Mr Walsh, who lived alone in a semidetached house a kilometre from the town centre. Divers from the Garda Water Unit were continuing to search the river Suir, about 1.5km from the crime scene, for a possible murder weapon. So far they have covered more than a kilometre of riverbed. Investigators are tight-lipped about progress, but are understood to be keeping an open mind on a motive for the murder of Mr Walsh, who was a familiar figure cycling around Carrick-on-Suir including along the popular Blueway connecting the town with Clonmel. They have renewed their appeal for anyone with information to come forward, including any road users who were in the area of Cregg Road, Carrick-On-Suir, between 8pm on August 1st and 3.30am on August 4th. Additionally, anyone who may have camera or dashcam footage and was travelling in the area at the time is asked to make it available to gardaí at Clonmel station on 052 617-7640, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any station.
Irish Times
12 hours ago
- Irish Times
President condemns ‘despicable attacks' on Indian people as extra Garda patrols deployed in parts of Dublin
President Michael D Higgins has condemned recent attacks on Indian people living in Ireland as a 'stark contradiction' to the values the Irish public hold dear. Mr Higgins said any person who has been 'drawn into such behaviour through manipulation or provocation is to be unequivocally condemned', as he noted that many of the alleged perpetrators of the assaults were under the age of 18. 'Whether such provocation stems from ignorance or from malice, it is essential to acknowledge the harm that it is causing,' he said. His statement came on Tuesday as An Garda Síochána began deploying additional patrols in parts of Dublin in response to the recent rise in reports of attacks on Indian nationals. READ MORE In addition to the patrols in Dublin, senior officers have been assigned to investigate the incidents reported to the force, some of which are being investigated as potential hate crimes . Garda juvenile liaison officers have also started engaging with youth and other groups in an attempt to discourage future incidents and offer support. Garda headquarters announced the measures in a statement on Tuesday. It said it 'is co-ordinating activity across the country to support the Indian community' which 'includes proactive engagement with the community, representative groups, and the Indian embassy'. Garda management is also engaging with social media companies regarding the posting of videos targeting members of the Indian community and other minorities. Mr Higgins said such attacks 'diminish all of us and obscure the immeasurable benefits the people of India have brought to the life of this country'. Of the Indian community, he said 'their presence, their work, their culture, have [all] been a source of enrichment and generosity to our shared life'. He said the people of Ireland 'are all mindful of the immense contribution this community has made, and continues to make, to so many aspects of Irish life, in medicine, nursing, the caring professions, in cultural life, in business and enterprise'. There were 78,000 Indian nationals living in the State in 2023, according to population estimates from the Central Statistics Office . Indian nurses accounted for a fifth of all registered nurses in Ireland last year, despite the community amounting to less than 2 per cent of the total population. The President said he wishes 'to express the deep sense of gratitude we all in Ireland owe to the Indian community here'. He said when he met India's minister of external affairs earlier this year and they 'discussed how much our histories share the experience of paths towards independence'. He named Irish-Indian suffragist Margaret Cousins, who established the All India Women's Conference in 1927, and 'the exchange of expertise' as Ireland and India drafted post-independence constitutions in the early 20th century as proof that 'Ireland's connections with India are neither recent nor superficial'. 'Ireland has long been shaped by migration, both outward and inward,' he said. 'Those who left our shores carried our culture and values into faraway lands, often depending on the generosity of strangers.' Mr Higgins said public spaces, including the internet, 'should never be poisoned from messages of hate or incitement to violence' which 'damage and corrode the most fundamental and enduring instincts of Irishness' such as friendship and care. 'That shared human experience should remain at the heart of how we treat those who have come to make their lives here. To forget that is to lose a part of ourselves.'
Irish Times
14 hours ago
- Irish Times
Downpatrick community ‘shaken and deeply upset' by recent attacks, says Bishop
A community in Co Down has been 'shaken and upset deeply' by the attack on a priest and the fatal assault of a man at the weekend, parishioners have heard. Father John Murray (75) was struck on the head in a brutal attack at St Patrick's Church in Downpatrick on Sunday. He was approached by a man who asked if he would hear his confession ahead of the morning service, and then attacked as shocked parishioners arrived for mass. Father Murray had been due to retire later this week. READ MORE Police have said the attack may be linked to the death of a man in Downpatrick who has been named locally as painter and father-of-two Stephen Brannigan (50s). He was found dead in the Marian Park area at about noon on Sunday. A man (30) is being questioned by police on suspicion of murder. Fr Maurice Henry during a Mass at St Colmcille's Church in Downpatrick, Co Down. Photograph: Liam McBurney/PA Wire At a Mass held for Fr Murray and Mr Brannigan's on Tuesday, Bishop McGuckian said the whole community has been 'shaken and upset deeply' by the recent events. The Bishop of Down and Connor encouraged parishioners to find courage and hope after a 'traumatic and shocking' few days. Speaking after the mass, Bishop McGuckian said he derived 'consolation' from hearing that 'hundreds' of people had gathered spontaneously to pray for Mr Brannigan and Fr Murray. 'That gives me a sense that in this community there are the resources to really come together and be strong for one another. There are great people in this community,' he said. He said Fr Murray is 'increasingly comfortable' and will do well in his recovery in hospital. A man killed in Downpatrick, Co Down , in an incident believed to be linked to a serious attack on a parish priest was a 'beloved dad, grandad, son and brother', his family has said. Meanwhile, Mr Brannigan's family has expressed thanks to people who have surrounded them 'in the midst of our shock, pain and total heartbreak at the news of the brutal murder of our beloved dad, grandad, son and brother'. The family said Mr Brannigan was known among his neighbours and friends as someone who was 'always willing to help out, ready to do whatever needed to be done for the good of others'. A Police Service of Northern Ireland officer at the scene in the Marian Park area of Downpatrick, Co Down, after a murder investigation was launched into a man's death that police said may be linked to an attack on a priest in a church in Co Down. Photograph: Liam McBurney/PA Wire 'Even the day before he died, he was tending the graves of friends and neighbours as he did, almost every day, the grave of his late wife Dorenda, who died five years ago from cancer.' 'Stephen faced many difficult issues in his life. We know his life was not perfect. But for us, he was our dad, our grandad, our son and our brother. 'His rock through all of this was Dorenda. We pray they will be reunited now in perfect peace and love,' the statement reads. They also expressed their 'deep concern' for Canon Murray, who is 'highly respected by our family and by all in our community'. 'It is so typical of his kindness that he was willing to reach out in trust to someone he believed was in distress, despite the obvious risk to himself. 'With so many others, we pray for his full recovery and thank him for his own prayers for us which he has conveyed through the priests of the parish,' the family said. Canon Murray, who was hit on the head with a bottle days before his retirement, remains in a serious but stable condition. While investigations are at an early stage, one line of inquiry is that the murder and attack are connected. Supt Norman Haslett, the District Commander for Newry, Mourne and Down, said there would be an increased police presence in the area over the coming days. 'For a man to be murdered and a priest to be attacked in the sanctity of his own church, these are appalling acts and I understand that many people will inevitably be struggling to come to terms with both grief and shock,' he said. Local SDLP councillor Conor Galbraith said there was concern locally around a 'delay' in the police response following the discovery of Mr Brannigan's body. He said this was 'very distressing' for the family 'while the suspect remained at large.' 'Given the seriousness of this situation I will be raising this with the local police commander to get a better understanding of what exactly happened here,' he said. A spokeswoman for the Police Service of Northern Ireland said police arrived at the Marian Park area of Downpatrick within 30 minutes of receiving an emergency call.
