Prisoner found hanged in cell

A man in his late 30s was found dead in a cell at Dublin’s Mountjoy Prison today.

The man, who was serving an 18-month sentence, was found hanging shortly before 3.30am.

A spokeswoman for the Irish Prison Service said: “He had been observed just before 3am and had been fine.”

Resuscitation was attempted at the scene, and the man was taken by ambulance to the nearby Mater Hospital.

He was pronounced dead at 4.08am.

The man had asked to be placed on protection yesterday evening.

The spokeswoman confirmed he had been placed in a single-occupancy cell, as required under the new procedures.

New measures were introduced in the wake of the murder of Gary Douch, 21, in a communal cell at the prison.

Under the new procedures, prisoners requesting protection are housed in single-occupancy cells for at least 24 hours.