No foul play as man found in stream

GARDAÍ in Cork ruled out foul play last night following the discovery of an elderly man’s body in a stream.

The body was discovered floating face-down in the shallow Ballybrack stream, which flows alongside Douglas Community Park, off Church Street in the heart of Douglas Village, at 8.15am yesterday by a builder working on a nearby site.

Gardaí were still trying to contact the dead man’s family last night before releasing his name.

He was in his mid-60s and lived locally. He had been socialising in a pub in Douglas on Wednesday night and was walking home at about midnight when he died.

CCTV footage shows him turning off Church Street and into a cul-de-sac alongside the river known locally as Sullivan’s Lane. The bank is unprotected.

The body was found the next morning in the foot-deep stream, about eight feet below the lane, close to the entrance to the park.

Gardaí were alerted and they sealed off the scene for a technical examination.

Assistant State pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster conducted a preliminary examination of the scene and the body shortly after 10am.

The body was then recovered from the water by members of Cork City Fire Brigade’s swift water rescue team and was removed to Cork University Hospital for a post-mortem examination.

The post-mortem established that there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.

A garda file is being prepared for the coroner who will hold an inquest at a later date.