Gardai to review death of hunger-strike man's son

A Cork man who began a hunger-strike outside Dáil Éireann to force a public inquiry into the death of his son has received an apology from the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, who stayed in the Dáil bar while the son's death was being debated.

Mr Andrew Moynihan has agreed to end his protest after being given an undertaking by Mr McDowell that gardaí will review their files on the death of his son, Adrian.

Mr Moynihan stopped eating at 6 p.m. on Monday. He travelled to Dublin on Tuesday morning and remained outside the Dáil. On Tuesday night he visited the public gallery from where he expected to see Mr McDowell answer questions regarding his son's death.

Instead the junior Minister, Mr Ivor Callely, was dispatched to the debate. It later emerged that Mr McDowell had been in the Dáil bar at the time.

Mr Moynihan yesterday said he felt "degraded" by the Minister's absence. "I was disappointed, too, that as a Minister he wouldn't answer our questions."

The Fine Gael leader, Mr Enda Kenny, described Mr McDowell as arrogant, saying his behaviour amounted to "contemptuous treatment".

Following widespread media coverage yesterday of Mr McDowell's absence from the Dáil on Tuesday night the Minister met Mr Moynihan outside Leinster House yesterday morning to assure him he had become aware of the matter.

He then summoned the Garda Commissioner, Mr Pat Byrne, to discuss the case of Mr Adrian Moynihan and the reasons why no prosecution was ever pursued.

Last month the Deputy State Pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy, told an inquest she believed Mr Moynihan had died because of the way he was held down during an incident with bouncers at a Cork nightclub.