Canal victim not yet formally named as DNA data is awaited

A man whose dismembered body was found in a suitcase in the Royal Canal earlier this year has still not been formally identified…

A man whose dismembered body was found in a suitcase in the Royal Canal earlier this year has still not been formally identified, his inquest heard yesterday.

The victim is believed to be Farah Swaleh Noor (38), a Somalian who had been living in Dublin since 1996.

But Insp Christopher Mangan of Fitzgibbon Street Garda station told the Dublin City Coroner's Court that final results of DNA tests on the body were still awaited.

He also said gardaí had been in contact with Mr Noor's mother, who lives in Mogadishu, and would be bringing her to Dublin in the near future to help with inquiries.

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Insp Mangan said the suspected victim was originally from a part of Somalia called Kismayo, and gardaí had also been in touch with other family members in that country.

Before his death, Mr Noor had been living at Richmond Cottages on Dublin's north side.

City Coroner Dr Brian Farrell formally opened the inquest of "a male person said to be Mr Farah Swaleh Noor", whose remains were found in the Royal Canal at Ballybough on March 30th, 2005.

He said he would adjourn the case until December 16th, but if the dead man's mother came to Dublin in the meantime, he could bring the hearing forward, Dr Farrell added.

Last week gardaí issued a photograph of Mr Noor in an attempt to encourage anyone with information about him to come forward.

Earlier this month three women and a man were arrested in connection with the murder. All were later released without charge.

Frank McNally

Frank McNally

Frank McNally is an Irish Times journalist and chief writer of An Irish Diary