Prisoner died 'after swallowing duvet lining'

An inquest into the death of an inmate at Cork Prison has heard that he died after swallowing the inside lining of his duvet.

Thirty-five-year-old Keith Henley from Pike Road, Fermoy was under observation after expressing suicidal thoughts upon his admission on January 4 this year.

Henley was in a special observation cell when he collapsed on January 19. He was rushed by ambulance to the Mercy Hospital where he was pronounced dead five days later.

Dr Martin Buckley said he discovered a ball of gauze lodged in Henley's windpipe and a further 20 balls of the cotton-wool-like material in his stomach.

The inquest established that the material had been ripped from the inside of the duvet.

An autopsy found that Keith Henley died from pnuemonia having suffered severe brain damage caused by a blockage in his windpipe.

Prison governor Jim Collins said he was open to reviewing proceedures if the jury made a recommendation, but it did not.

A verdict of death by misadventure was recorded.