Mystery surrounds identity of man found dead on farm

Gardaí have still not identified the dead man in his 20s found face down on farmland in north county Dublin, but they believe his death is not suspicious.

An autopsy is due to be held today but gardaí say there are no obvious signs of trauma on his body.

This would suggest the man may have died possibly after collapsing in freezing weather conditions.

Gardaí have been going through their list of missing persons to see if there is a match and last night appealed to the public to come forward if they know somebody missing for the past 24 or 48 hours.

The body was discovered at about 2pm yesterday by a farmer on his land in Balheary, between Swords and Skerries.

The farmer was spraying a field when he spotted what appeared to be a body on a dirt track.

When he approached it, he could see it was someone lying face down on the ground. He alerted gardaí, who sealed off the scene. A local doctor was called and he pronounced the victim dead at the scene.

The State Pathologist’s Office was called to the farm. As with all cases, gardaí had to wait until the pathologist arrived and were unable to touch the body to take a photograph of the face to see if there were signs of trauma.

There was uncertainty as to the possible age of the deceased at first, with initial reports suggesting the body appeared to be that of a boy, between the ages of 10 and 14. Gardaí later said the deceased was in his early 20s.

Officers were in contact with families of missing men in that age group to alert them to the find and to let them know they would be kept informed.

The Garda Technical Bureau took photos of the man’s face once the pathologist arrived and also took samples from the scene.

Following a preliminary autopsy, the body was taken to James Connolly Memorial Hospital in Blanchardstown, where a full autopsy is to take place today.

* Anyone with information should contact Swords Garda Station at 01 666 4700, or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.