Family of Englishman who died alone in Dublin sought

Gardaí in Dublin are to place notices in British newspapers in the hope of tracing relatives of a man who died alone in Dublin last month. If relatives are not found he will be buried in a "pauper's grave".

Mr Rodney Kilworth (63) died at the Salvation Army's Granby Centre, a psychiatric care unit for the homeless, in Granby Row, Dublin, on June 5th. Despite exhaustive efforts involving police here and in Britain, no relatives have been traced.

Born in Littlehampton, West Sussex, in April 1940, Mr Kilworth is believed to have a son and a daughter living in England. A Garda spokesman said they would be aged between 43 and 46.

"As far as we know he was married twice before he moved here about 15 years ago. We believe he was an office worker."

The spokesman said English police had visited a number of addresses he had given doctors before his death, though some of these "didn't in the end exist".

"He seemed a very sensible man, who kept his affairs in order."

Mr Kilworth had been living at the Salvation Army centre for three years. If no relatives are traced his affairs will be handed to the Chief State Solicitor's Office and his burial will be arranged from there.

Mr Gerry Fitzpatrick, senior carer at the Granby Centre, said Mr Kilworth was "a very pleasant type. He didn't talk much about his family or his personal life, kept himself very much to himself. He was a very, very nice man. He moved here from England and spoke with a refined English accent. No, no one ever came to see him and most of our care staff here spent a lot of time with him.

"It's a very sad way to end your days like that, all alone, but hopefully they'll track someone belonging to him down."

Anyone with information can contact the Garda at (01) 666 8000.