The Garda ombudsman has begun an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of a man in Garda custody in Co Louth last night.
Gardaí were called to a shop in the Green Acres area of Dundalk shortly after 9.30pm.
A man, who was in his early 30s and described as being in a distressed state, was detained by officers but became unwell at the scene.
He was taken by ambulance to Our Lady of Lourdes hospital in Drogheda where he was pronounced dead just after 10.30pm
A postmortem on the deceased man, who had not yet been named by gardaí, was due to be performed today by State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy in Drogheda hospital.
The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission confirmed the matter had been referred and that an investigation into the incident was underway.
Several officers from the commission attended the scene overnight, a spokesman from the ombudsman’s office confirmed today.