Gardaí are treating the discovery of the body of a woman in her early 20s in Tralee town centre at the weekend on what was a bitterly cold night as a sudden death.
The manager of the emergency accommodation where the woman had been living has called for more suitable accommodation for homeless people in Kerry.
Sarah O’Keeffe (22), a native of west Limerick, had spoken movingly on radio a year ago of how she had battled addiction and homelessness and was positive about her future.
In a feature on homelessness, Ms O’Keeffe spoke about having slept rough for two winters in Limerick city. As a result of these experiences she had arthritis in her ankles, hips and fingers, along with a bad chest.
“Nobody chooses to be homeless. Nobody chooses to be out there. But we couldn’t help it,” the frail young woman said.
She never again wanted to end up addicted to substances, sleeping on the streets in doorways and “begging for money”. She did, however, remain optimistic about her future.
“I always have been strong-minded in positive and negative ways,” she had told Radio Kerry.
Her body was found in Godfrey Place in Tralee town centre in the early hours of Saturday, which was a bitterly cold night.
She had been a resident of Arlington Lodge hostel in Tralee - Kerry’s only emergency homeless facility, run by the charity Novas. She had been in the lodge earlier on, only an hour and a half before her body was found.
Tom Wall, Arlington Lodge manager, yesterday said Novas had been dealing with Ms O’Keeffe for five years. "She was a lovely girl who had a lot of problems,” he said.
Sarah had been for treatment for her addictions several times, which had at times worked well for her. She had had good support from a local GP.
There were not enough supports, however, particularly in the area of accommodation, Mr Wall said. “A lot of people had worked very hard for her and she did appreciate it,” he added.
Ms O'Keeffe had no longer been sleeping rough but there was a crying need for better accommodation for homeless persons, Mr Wall said.
The hostel he manages can accommodate just 14 people, including two "crash room" facilities, one for males and one for females. It was too small and not suitable for homeless people, he pointed out.
Supt Jim O’Connor of Tralee gardaí said a postmortem had been carried out and gardaí were treating Ms O’Keeffe’s death as a sudden death.
Toxicology reports are expected to take some time in the case.