A young man who suffered from epilepsy and had a history of psychiatric illness died in a Mountjoy Prison cell on his first night at the jail and was not discovered for up to 12 hours after his death, an inquest heard yesterday.
Sean Dinnegan (34) of Canal Avenue, Mullingar, Co.Westmeath, informed medical staff at the prison that he had not been taking his prescribed medication for epilepsy and was drinking heavily when he was assessed as a new committal at Mountjoy on the evening of May 21st, 2004, Dublin City Coroner's Court heard.
However, Mr Dinnegan was not seen by a doctor and the following morning his dead body was discovered on the floor of his cell.
Nurse Liam Shanahan, a medical orderly at Mountjoy Prison, told the inquest that he had assessed Mr Dinnegan at 8.45pm on the evening of May 21st in a consultation room in the main reception area and had taken his medical details.
Nurse Shanahan told the court Mr Dinnegan had indicated to him that he had suffered from epilepsy for the past two years, as a result of a head injury sustained in a car crash, and he was prescribed a daily dose of Epilim for the condition.
Mr Dinnegan was coherent and was able to answer all the questions asked of him.
If he had had any concerns about his health, he would have referred him to the A& E department of the Mater hospital, across the road, he told the inquest.
Assistant governor at Mountjoy prison, Michael Lawton told the court that there was a long-standing arrangement with the Mater A&E department.
The coroner, Dr Brian Farrel1, said he was satisfied the industrial action that the prison doctors were engaged in at the time of Mr Dinnegan's death did not impinge in any way on the situation and was not relevant to the inquest into his death, which was the main reason behind yesterday's preliminary hearing.
He then adjourned the inquest for full hearing to a date in December.