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Irish Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
'My son is gone' - mum's tears at inquest of son who died after tragic fall
A young man suffered fatal injuries in a fall from an apartment block in Dublin less than a week after he had been discharged from a psychiatric hospital and just seconds after talking to gardai, an inquest has heard. A sitting of Dublin District Coroner's Court heard relatives of Hassan Mohammad Osman (21) express concern about the circumstances of the death of the 21-year-old Somalian native including that they had not been informed that he had indicated he was suicidal when he was involuntarily admitted to St Vincent's Hospital in Fairview a month earlier. A postmortem showed Mr Osman died from a blunt force head injury consistent with a fall from a height. The incident occurred shortly after midnight on September 26, 2021 at Hampton Wood Point, Finglas. Mr Osman never regained consciousness and died three days later at the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital. Gardaí had been alerted to the scene by a local resident who had recorded a male standing on a window sill of a 4th floor apartment around 12.20am. Garda Diarmuid Murphy said Mr Osman had come down to the entrance of the apartment block by the time he and a colleague had arrived at the scene. Garda Murphy said the young man appeared slightly confused and incoherent but calm in response to some questions. On the way to the deceased's apartment, Mr Osman said he needed to finish 'the game of life' before adding: 'I am God. I must die' which Garda Murphy said he found 'alarming.' Garda Murphy said he followed Mr Osman into his bedroom to check the safety locks of the window after the young man declared he was fine and going to bed. The inquest heard two gardai, Mr Osman's mother and one of his brothers were with him when he got up and left the room. Garda Murphy said he then heard another of the deceased's brothers who was in the kitchen shouting about Mr Osman's fall from the balcony. In reply to questions from the coroner, Cróna Gallagher, he said he had planned to detain the deceased under the Mental Health Act but was checking with his family as they were unaware about him being on the window sill. He accepted that he had been wrong 'to assume the worst was over.' 'As far as we were concerned, he was safe,' said Garda Murphy. He told the coroner that gardaí were trained to remain calm in dealing with such cases and to try and de-escalate a situation but he did not believe the training was 'sufficient enough.' However, Garda Murphy said gardaí 'don't operate with perfect knowledge and make the best judgement.' A consultant psychiatrist, Prosper Obioha, gave evidence that Mr Osman had been admitted to St Vincent's Hospital for a relapse of paranoid schizophrenia that he had first been diagnosed with in 2018. The inquest heard Ms Osman had mental health issues since he was 15 and also had been treated for substance abuse. Dr Obioha said the deceased had indicated he was suicidal on admission to the hospital on August 24, 2021 but that he subsequently denied having such thoughts during the remainder of his stay. He accepted Mr Osman's family had not been informed about that but he explained there were patient confidentiality issues as well as that it appeared not to be 'an ongoing issue.' The psychiatrist outlined how Mr Osman was discharged on September 20, 2021 after improvements in his health and on condition that he took his medication and stopped using cannabis. Dr Obioha stressed that the patient was not psychotic at the time of discharge, while the medication he was prescribed would not have made his situation worse. The deceased's sister, Nima Osman, told the hearing that it was difficult to speak about her brother, whom she described as one of the bravest, strongest people she knew, in the past tense. However, Ms Osman remarked: 'His mental health battles became too heavy to carry alone.' She told the inquest that her brother loved life but was 'trapped in depression and darkness.' Ms Osman called for greater awareness about mental health issues because of the 'heartbreakingly high' rate of suicide among young men in Ireland. She urged people to be 'more cautious, more human and more aware' with people like her brother. In reply to questions from the coroner, Ms Osman said she had not wanted her brother to be left out of hospital but their mother wanted him home. She said her mother and other family members believed Hassan's condition was due to 'demons and spiritual stuff' while she was trying to explain he had mental health issues. Ms Osman said Hassan her brother was never suicidal but she became more concerned about his wellbeing when he started experiencing 'episodes' when he would hear a female voice telling him to be 'a ninja.' She told the coroner she could not understand why her brother had not been supervised at all times by gardaí if they had assessed the situation as life-threatening and why he was not arrested in the first place. The inquest heard Hassan, Nima and their mother, Nurrto Abdikadir Ahmed, moved to Ireland from Somalia in 2005. Ms Ahmed told the hearing Hassan was her favourite child and how he had a leg amputated following a shooting incident when he was aged 4. She recalled the family had eaten dinner that evening at 8pm before Hassan had gone back to his bedroom. Later she found him with two gardaí in the apartment when she learnt about concerns when he was seen on the window sill. Ms Ahmed said her son walked out of the bedroom before she heard shouting and realised what had happened 'in a blink of an eye.' Ms Ahmed said she did not want any sanction on the gardaí involved as it was 'beyond their control.' 'My son has gone and he's not coming back,' she observed. An officer with Fiosrú – the Office of the Police Ombudsman, Liam Hickey said an investigation had found no breaches of any regulations by gardaí in the eight minutes they had contact with the deceased. Mr Hickey said there were no specific guidelines governing the situation and it was up to individual gardaí to assess how to deal with what they found. Returning a verdict of self-inflicted death, Dr Gallagher said she could not make a finding of death by suicide as it was unclear that Ms Osman was capable of forming the intent to take his own life given his medical history. The coroner offered her condolences to the deceased's relatives on what she described as 'an extremely sad and tragic case.' In the case of an emergency, or if you or someone you know is at risk of suicide or self-harm, dial 999/112.
Sunday World
27-05-2025
- Sunday World
Former GAA star killed in crash may have fallen asleep at the wheel, inquest hears
'I've three little boys at home who are devastated by the loss of Denis. They adored him and Denis adored them,' said Ms Kealy. A businessman and well-known Meath GAA figure who was killed in a single vehicle collision two years ago may have fallen asleep at the wheel due to tiredness, an inquest has heard. Denis Kealy (43) suffered fatal injuries when his Nissan Cabstar truck crashed into a tree on the R154 at Piercetown, Co Meath at around 2.30pm on June 24, 2023. Mr Kealy was rushed by ambulance to Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown in Dublin but was pronounced dead a short time later at 4.20pm. The married father of three and managing director of building firm, KeaMac, was a former GAA player with Meath as well as his local club, Dunshaughlin. At the inquest into his death on Tuesday, the coroner Aisling Gannon observed there were no eyewitnesses to the collision, while the evidence had not been able to establish definitively what had happened. A forensic collision investigator, Garda John Coughlan, told a sitting of Dublin District Coroner's Court that the deceased's vehicle had crossed over to the other side of the road 'for some undetermined reason' before mounting a grass verge and colliding with a tree. Businessman and well-known Meath GAA figure Denis Kealy A report on the crash established that the driver was not wearing a seat belt at the time. Garda Coughlan said there was no evidence that Mr Kealy had applied the vehicle's brakes at any stage during the incident. He confirmed that the road surface was dry and in good repair, while weather conditions were good. Garda Coughlan said tests on the truck found it had no defects which could have contributed to the collision. In reply to questions from the coroner, he said the speed at the point of impact with the tree could not be established. Having ruled out any environmental or vehicle factors to explain the crash, Garda Coughlan said he believed it was due to 'driver error' but could not be sure if it was because of 'a distraction or a medical event.' A postmortem showed Mr Kealy died as a result of catastrophic brain injuries consistent with a road traffic collision with no pre-existing health condition that could have contributed to the fatal crash. Tests confirmed there was no alcohol or drugs in his body. Denis Kealy News in 90 Seconds - May 27th The deceased's wife, Charlene Kealy, gave evidence that her husband had recently filled out questions about his lifestyle in a form in which he complained of regularly feeling drowsy. 'That stuck out to me,' she remarked. Ms Kealy said she had no concern about her husband's well-being or his mental health but noted that he would sometimes shake his head to keep himself awake. The inquest heard he had collected a new car the previous day and had arranged to bring his family to one of their favourite restaurants the following day. Ms Kealy said her husband had taken a day off work to collect the car and she believed he was 'trying to catch up' with work on the day of the crash. The inquest heard on the day before he died, Mr Kealy had got up at around 4.30am and did not get home until 11pm The deceased's wife said he went to bed at 11.30pm but was up early the following day as he had sent an e-mail at 6am. She claimed he was a hard worker who enjoyed his work. While he had a stressful job as a managing director of a company, she said he was well capable of managing such stress. In reply to questions from the coroner, Ms Kealy said their business was doing well financially, while there was nothing that had emerged following his death which would have caused them any concern. Although sometimes she might have complained about some of his driving habits, Ms Kealy said her husband would definitely wear his seat belt whenever she was with him. Ms Kealy fought back tears as the inquest heard that her husband had brought her breakfast in bed on the morning of the fatal crash before he went off to work on a number of sites as it was her birthday. She described how she was celebrating with a number of female friends later that afternoon when she received a call to alert her to what happened. 'I've three little boys at home who are devastated by the loss of Denis. They adored him and Denis adored them,' said Ms Kealy. She added: 'We're broken. We really are.' Summing up the evidence, the coroner said there was nothing to indicate any intentional act by Mr Kealy in relation to the crash as she had heard of 'significant future-focused acts' like the purchase of a new car and making a dinner reservation. Ms Gannon noted suggestions that he was 'significantly tired' which was a 'more probable' explanation for what may have happened. Offering her condolences to the deceased's family, the coroner recorded a verdict of death by misadventure which she explained was because the death was due to an unintended act.
Sunday World
08-05-2025
- Sunday World
Prisoner who suffered violent death in Dublin jail had to be identified by fingerprints
Martin Salinger (43) was found dead in his cell on D1 landing at Cloverhill Prison in Clondalkin on October 5, 2024. A prisoner who suffered a violent death in Cloverhill Prison in Dublin last year had to be identified by fingerprint evidence due to the extent of his injuries, an inquest has heard. Martin Salinger (43), a horse and carriage driver from Ballyfermot, was found dead in his cell on D1 landing at Cloverhill Prison in Clondalkin on October 5, 2024 following an alleged row. The deceased, who came originally from The Liberties, had been in the prison for a couple of months after being remanded in custody on drugs and firearms offences after gardai recovered a handgun and €20,000 worth of cannabis from a property in Ballyfermot. It is understood three prisoners were in the two-man cell at the time of the fatal incident. One of the other occupants of the cell also sustained injuries during the incident and required treatment in the prison infirmary. Detective Garda James Cunningham of the Garda Technical Bureau told a sitting of Dublin District Coroner's Court on Thursday that he attended Cloverhill Prison for the removal of Mr Salinger in a body bag from the cell on the morning of October 5, 2024. A horse-drawn carriage carries a floral tribute to Martin Sallinger Det Garda Cunningham said he subsequently attended Dublin City Mortuary in Whitehall where a postmortem was carried out during which finger and palm prints were taken from the victim's body for identification purposes. The coroner, Cróna Gallagher, said a statement from Forensic Science Ireland confirmed the identity of the body as that of Mr Salinger. Dr Gallagher revealed that the results of the postmortem showed that the deceased had died from blunt force injuries to the head, neck and face. Inspector Brian Hanley applied for an adjournment of the case under Section 25 (2) of the Coroners Act on the basis that criminal proceedings have already been initiated in relation to Mr Salinger's death. Dr Gallagher granted the application and adjourned the case for a date to be fixed after the conclusion of any criminal prosecution in the case. No member of Mr Salinger's family attended the brief hearing but they were aware of the proceedings. Another prisoner, Liam O'Neill (30) of Garrison Mews, Loughlinstown, Co Dublin was charged with the murder of Mr Salinger at a court sitting last December. Mr O'Neill was also charged with assault causing harm to another prisoner during the same incident.
Irish Daily Mirror
08-05-2025
- Irish Daily Mirror
Man stabbed to death in Cloverhill Prison had to be identified by fingerprints
A prisoner who suffered a violent death in Cloverhill Prison in Dublin last year had to be identified by fingerprint evidence due to the extent of his injuries, an inquest has heard. Martin Salinger, 43, a horse and carriage driver from Ballyfermot, was found dead in his cell on D1 landing at Cloverhill Prison in Clondalkin on October 5, 2024 following an alleged row. The deceased, who came originally from The Liberties, had been in the prison for a couple of months after being remanded in custody on drugs and firearms offences after Gardaí recovered a handgun and €20,000 worth of cannabis from a property in Ballyfermot. It is understood three prisoners were in the two-man cell at the time of the fatal incident. One of the other occupants of the cell also sustained injuries during the incident and required treatment in the prison infirmary. Detective Garda James Cunningham of the Garda Technical Bureau told a sitting of Dublin District Coroner's Court on Thursday that he attended Cloverhill Prison for the removal of Mr Salinger in a body bag from the cell on the morning of October 5, 2024. Detective Garda Cunningham said he subsequently attended Dublin City Mortuary in Whitehall where a post-mortem was carried out, during which finger and palm prints were taken from the victim's body for identification purposes. The coroner, Cróna Gallagher, said a statement from Forensic Science Ireland confirmed the identity of the body as that of Mr Salinger. Dr Gallagher revealed that the results of the post-mortem showed that the deceased had died from blunt force injuries to the head, neck and face. Inspector Brian Hanley applied for an adjournment of the case under Section 25 (2) of the Coroners Act on the basis that criminal proceedings have already been initiated in relation to Mr Salinger's death. Dr Gallagher granted the application and adjourned the case for a date to be fixed after the conclusion of any criminal prosecution in the case. No member of Mr Salinger's family attended the brief hearing but they were aware of the proceedings. Another prisoner, Liam O'Neill, 30, of Garrison Mews, Loughlinstown, Co Dublin. was charged with the murder of Mr Salinger at a court sitting last December. Mr O'Neill was also charged with assault causing harm to another prisoner during the same incident.
Irish Examiner
08-05-2025
- Irish Examiner
Inmate who died violently in prison had to be identified by his fingerprints, inquest hears
A prisoner who suffered a violent death in Cloverhill Prison in Dublin last year had to be identified by fingerprint evidence due to the extent of his injuries, an inquest has heard. Martin Salinger, aged 43, a horse and carriage driver from Ballyfermot, was found dead in his cell on D1 landing at Cloverhill Prison in Clondalkin on October 5, 2024, following an alleged row. The deceased, who came originally from The Liberties, had been in the prison for a couple of months after being remanded in custody on drugs and firearms offences after gardaí recovered a handgun and €20,000 worth of cannabis from a property in Ballyfermot. It is understood three prisoners were in the two-man cell at the time of the fatal incident. One of the other occupants of the cell also sustained injuries during the incident and required treatment in the prison infirmary. Detective Garda James Cunningham of the Garda Technical Bureau told a sitting of Dublin District Coroner's Court on Thursday that he attended Cloverhill Prison for the removal of Mr Salinger in a body bag from the cell on the morning of October 5, 2024. Det. Garda Cunningham said he subsequently attended Dublin City Mortuary in Whitehall where a postmortem examination was carried out during which finger and palm prints were taken from the victim's body for identification purposes. The coroner, Cróna Gallagher, said a statement from Forensic Science Ireland confirmed the identity of the body as that of Mr Salinger. Dr Gallagher revealed that the results of the autopsy showed that the deceased had died from blunt force injuries to the head, neck and face. Criminal case Inspector Brian Hanley applied for an adjournment of the case under Section 25 (2) of the Coroners Act on the basis that criminal proceedings have already been initiated in relation to Mr Salinger's death. Dr Gallagher granted the application and adjourned the case for a date to be fixed after the conclusion of any criminal prosecution in the case. No member of Mr Salinger's family attended the brief hearing but they were aware of the proceedings. Another prisoner, Liam O'Neill, aged 30, of Garrison Mews, Loughlinstown, Co Dublin, was charged with the murder of Mr Salinger at a court sitting last December. Mr O'Neill was also charged with assault causing harm to another prisoner during the same incident.
