Rough sleeper from Poland is found dead in city park

THE body of a Polish man who had been sleeping rough in an inner-city Dublin park was found by street outreach workers early yesterday.

The man, in his 40s, whose name has not been released pending notification of next of kin, was a client of the Merchant’s Quay drug and homeless services charity, according to its CEO Tony Geoghegan.

The grim find was made by the charity’s outreach team at around 8am when they went to check on two rough sleepers at nearby St Audoen’s Park on Cook Street near Christ Church Cathedral.

“They tried to wake him but he was unresponsive,” he said, adding the deceased man was known to sleep rough in the park.

He also used the charity’s food and washing facilities and would have had access to its 24-hour night café – which provides mats for sleepers if needed.

Gardaí confirmed they are treating it as a sudden death. He is tragically the second homeless Polish national to be found dead on the streets within the past fortnight.

Last month, the body of Krzysztof Ciesielski was found on a park bench at Peter’s Lake in Monaghan town.

His death came just eight days after the body of another homeless man, aged in his 20s, was found on the grounds of Galway City Hall.

Anthony Flynn, CEO of Inner City Helping Homeless, said the Polish man’s death is the 27th of rough sleepers in Ireland over 16 months.