Sharkey calls for postmortems to take place at weekends

Cllr Tomás Sharkey

Councillor Tomás Sharkey has called for postmortem examinations to be carried out in local hospitals at the weekends.

At present no postmortems take place at weekends unless requested by the State pathologist but the Sinn Féin representative said this delay can also lead to funeral arrangements being pushed back, thus leading to additional grief for families affected by tragic deaths.

He said: “When the laboratory service in Louth County Hospital closed the postmortem work was also moved to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital. As a rule post-mortems are not carried out in that hospital over the weekend unless the state pathologist requests it.

“In recent times I am aware that a number of tragic deaths took place on a Friday night / early Saturday. This meant that postmortems were not carried out until the following Monday morning and the families involved were delayed in receiving the remains home for a wake and funeral.

“This arrangement can cause stress and additional grief for families. It is not fair and should be addressed by HSE management. I have called for a review of the arrangements and expect that the merits of the request be taken on board.”

Man dies tragically in Dunleer after head gets stuck in patio door

Eoin Carney, 27, who died after his head became stuck in a patio door in the Rivervale estate in Dunleer

A 27-year-old man has been tragically killed in Dunleer after his head became stuck in a patio door.

Eoin Carney’s body was discovered at the back of a house in the Rivervale estate yesterday morning.

It appears he was trying to get into a friend’s house when he became trapped n the patio door.

Gardaí believe Carney was trying to lift the sliding door off in an attempt to get back inside but when he tried to slip in the door slid back at him and crushed his head against the frame.

Carney’s pal, who was asleep at the time, made the grim discovery when he walked downstairs early on Tuesday.

He moved the body and attempted to resuscitate him but to no avail.

Gardaí were called to the scene and a technical examination was carried out.

His body was later moved to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda where State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy carried out a postmortem examination last night.

It is understood he died from asphyxiation after getting his neck and head trapped in the patio door.