Solicitor 'mystified' over absence of prisoner's autopsy report from DPP file, inquest told

Michael Devlin was found unresponsive in his cell at Cloverhill Prison less than two months after his recapture following a period where he had been on the run for almost four years. File photo: Niall Carson/PA

A solicitor has told an inquest that he is “mystified” over why a Garda file on the death of a prisoner in custody was submitted to the DPP without including a copy of the post-mortem report.

Solicitor Michael Finucane made his comments during a preliminary hearing of the inquest into the death of Michael “Skin” Devlin – a father of five with an address in Edgeworthstown, Co Longford, on February 21, 2024.

Mr Devlin was found unresponsive in his cell at Cloverhill Prison less than two months after his recapture following a period where he had been on the run for almost four years. The deceased was a convicted drug dealer who had been returned to prison in January 2024 after absconding from Shelton Abbey open prison in Arklow, Co Wicklow, in the summer of 2020.

A previous sitting of Dublin District Coroner’s Court in May heard that the results of an autopsy showed he had died from complications of a rare medical condition which can block a person’s airway. The autopsy found he had died from complications of acute adult supraglottitis – a rare, potentially fatal bacterial infection which causes inflammation of parts of the larynx.

At a hearing on Wednesday, Mr Finucane, who is representing the deceased’s family, questioned why a post-mortem report had not been sought by gardaí as part of the file it was preparing for the DPP.

Mr Finucane complained that there had been no contact with Mr Devlin’s family about the progress of the investigation into his death despite the legal obligation to keep them informed, particularly in relation to a death in custody. However, the investigating officer Garda Cormac Judge told the hearing that he had contacted the family about a week ago.

Detective Inspector Brian Hanley informed the coroner, Clare Keane, that a Garda file on the investigation into the prisoner’s death had originally been forwarded to the DPP on May 22. However, Det. Insp. Hanley said the file had been resubmitted about two weeks ago after it emerged that the original file had been mislaid.

Dr Keane confirmed that the DPP had asked her office for a copy of the post-mortem and she said it would be provided. In reply to a question from Mr Finucane, Det. Insp. Hanley said he was not aware if gardaí had sought a copy of the post-mortem as it was not his case.

Following a brief adjournment, the coroner confirmed that gardaí had sought a copy of the post-mortem on August 8.

Refusal to question garda

There were tetchy exchanges between the coroner and Mr Finucane after the solicitor’s attempts to put questions to Garda Judge were refused. Mr Finucane said Garda Judge was the best witness to provide accurate information about the course of the investigation into Mr Devlin’s death.

He said he wanted to find out why gardaí had not sought a post-mortem before August 8 and to ask if Garda Judge had delivered the file to the DPP given it had gone missing. Mr Finucane said he could not understand why he was not being allowed to question the garda.

Following another short adjournment, Dr Keane said the solicitor’s questions were reasonable and she understood they needed to be answered. The coroner said she would deal with the queries via correspondence, while adding that there was nothing to stop Mr Finucane dealing directly with An Garda Síochána.

She granted an application by Det. Insp. Hanley for a three-month adjournment of the case.