Cork murderer John Walsh is first person to die with Covid in Irish prison

John Walsh at Cork District Court in March 2010. File picture: Daragh McSweeney/Provision

A man convicted of a murder in Cork in 2008 has become the first prisoner in the State to die as a result of Covid-19. 

John Walsh was serving a life sentence in the Midlands Prison following his conviction in 2010 for the murder of 25-year-old John McManus at the victim’s flat in Wellington Rd in Cork City. 

Walsh, who was 56, had been receiving treatment for an underlying terminal condition and it is unclear whether he contracted Covid in hospital or in the prison.

The Irish Prison Service confirmed there has been a death in custody, which occurred last Monday. 

“All deaths in custody are investigated by the Irish Prison Service, the Inspector of Prisons, and An Garda Síochána, where circumstances warrant,” a spokesperson said. 

“The cause of death is determined by the coroner’s office.

The death occurred as Covid cases within the prison system are rising, mirroring the trajectory of the disease in the general population. 

During earlier waves of the pandemic, the prison service was commended for managing the condition to a point where there were proportionately far fewer outbreaks than has occurred in the community. 

Visits were banned in all the prisons until August this year, when the vaccination programme for prisoners was completed.

John Walsh was originally from Ballinlough, Cork, and was convicted of murdering Mr McManus after a seven-week trial in the Central Criminal Court. 

Walsh was on bail at the time of the murder on charges of possessing cocaine for sale or supply.

Walsh’s girlfriend, Gillian Purcell, originally from Hollyville, Hollyhill, was also charged in connection with the murder but walked free from court during the trial, when the judge directed the jury to return a verdict of not guilty due to of lack of evidence.