Tributes left at street memorial to rough sleeper who died in Dublin city centre

Tributes have been left at a makeshift street shrine to the rough sleeper who died at the steps of a former church on St Andrew’s Street in Dublin city centre last week.

The body of Stephen ‘Clarkey’ Clarke, a father in his 40s, was found in the early hours of Tuesday morning, January 9th.

Gardaí and housing authorities worked for several days to identify Mr Clarke, who had been sleeping rough in the city centre. He did not have any identification on his person.

It is not known how long he was sleeping on the streets, but homeless services had engaged with him in the past. It is also unclear how long he may have been dead before he was discovered.

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His death occurred during a period of extremely cold weather, and is understood to be the first official recorded death of a rough sleeper this year.

Garda headquarters confirmed last Friday that he had been identified after three days. Their “investigations are ongoing”.

A post-mortem was carried out at Dublin city morgue and a file is being prepared for the coroner.

A homeless services spokesperson said Mr Clarke was “a very decent man, gentle and very quiet”.

Red, pink, and yellow roses, among several floral bouquets; a photograph collage and candles were left in memory of Mr Clarke at the spot where he passed away.

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