Ireland– The bodies of two men in their 40s were found in the Grand Canal in Dublin on Saturday morning.
Gardaí responded to reports of a body in the canal at Grand Parade shortly after 8am. The bodies of two men were recovered a short time later, with both pronounced deceased at the scene.
The men have been identified by gardaí and a postmortem will take place in due course. It is understood both were Irish.
The scene is preserved, and a Garda cordon is in place while investigations continue.
It is believed that the two men had been living in two tents close to where their bodies were recovered from.
The men were camping opposite a makeshift refugee camp where International Protection Applicants have been sleeping.
Gardaí have secured an area on the canal, just west of the Luas bridge and the Charlemont stop, where two pop-up tents are situated on a very narrow strip of land between the road and the canal, not much wider than the tents.
The area, which is not a path or beside a path, is across the canal and on the opposite side of the Luas bridge from where there is an encampment of asylum seekers.
People at the camp said they did not know what had happened and that last night was cold and raining.
Garda divers were preparing to examine the scene at around 1pm.
A spokesperson for The Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE) said they would like to offer its sympathies to the families and friends of the people who died at the Grand Canal.
“The DRHE has been in contact with An Garda Síochána and is awaiting confirmation of the person’s identities before we can confirm if they were known to homeless services.”
DRHE added that there is sufficient emergency accommodation in Dublin and that they encourage anyone seeking accommodation to contact their local authority.
“We encourage members of the public to download the Rough Sleeper Alert app to assist teams in supporting people most at risk,” the Executive said.
Fianna Fáil TD Jim O’Callaghan said he was “very sorry to hear of the death of two men this morning by the Grand Canal.”
“Garda are still investigating the circumstances. However, if the deceased were people living in tents, whether they were locals or international protection applicants, it underlines the danger for people who are living on the streets.”
