Inquiry as man’s body found in north Dublin field

Gardaí had last night yet to establish the identity of a man found dead face down in a field in north Co Dublin. The remains of the man, believed to be in his late teens or early 20s, were found yesterday afternoon by a farmer spraying crops near Swords.

Garda sources said the dead man was not carrying any identification, mobile phone or any other items that might aid them in establishing his identity.

There were no clear signs of trauma to his body that may have caused his death. However, gardaí stressed that because he may have been dead for 24 hours and the body could have been in the field in very cold weather overnight, injuries to the remains may have been concealed by discolouration.

“There was no obvious sign of an injury but it’s not until the postmortem is done that we will know for sure – a serious injury can sometimes not be clearly visible,” said one source.

After a preliminary examination of the body at the scene it was removed to Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown, where a full postmortem was due to begin this morning. Gardaí are hopeful this will conclusively establish whether foul play was involved.

Gardaí have spoken to a number of local people who were in the field as recently as about 4pm on Monday. They said they did not believe the body was there at that time.

The dead man’s fingerprints have been taken and are being checked on the Garda database in the event he had come to the Garda’s attention previously.

The remains of the man, who was dressed in black jeans, black trainers, and an orange and black top, were found close to a gateway and a mobile phone mast in a field near Swords. The field is close to Balheary Church, Balheary. The area is just north of Swords and is accessed from the old road between Dublin and Belfast.

The discovery was made after 2.30pm when a land owner went to the field to spray crops. He found the body in the field and alerted gardaí immediately.

When gardaí from Swords station arrived at the scene they sealed it off and the State Pathologist’s Office was informed.