Body of man exhumed and reburied after initial burial without family's knowledge

The body of the man, originally from Wicklow, was found in an industrial estate in Dublin in July 2025 and was stored in the mortuary until January. File picture

A man whose body lay in a Dublin city morgue for almost six months has been exhumed and reburied by his family after he was buried without their knowledge.

The body of the man, originally from Wicklow, was found in an industrial estate in Dublin in July 2025 and was stored in the mortuary until January. 

His public services card was found, along with other belongings, on his person. A death notice using his name was published on RIP.ie in January, with Dublin cited as his address.

His family only became aware of his death when they decided to search for his name on RIP.ie and came across the death notice. He had already been buried in a pauper’s grave by then, according to Sinn Féin TD John Brady.

The family successfully applied for an exhumation which took place last week, followed by his reburial in recent days.

Mr Brady has raised the case with Garda commissioner Justin Kelly amid concerns that not enough was done to trace the man’s family.

The family believes that he should have been traceable given that his public services card was in his possession when his body was found. They are also distressed that personal items found on his person have not been yet returned to the family.

Mr Brady said the deceased was known to gardaí and that correspondence, including summonses, had been coming to his family address after his death.

During a recent session of the Public Accounts Committee, chaired by Mr Brady, the Wicklow TD asked Mr Kelly to meet with the family. 

The Garda commissioner said he would ask assistant commissioner Paula Hilman to meet with the family “in the next week”. However, that meeting has not yet taken place.

Mr Brady told the Irish Examiner: “There are a lot of questions here that need to be answered. Hopefully the meeting will happen as quickly as possible.” 

Jamie Weldon

It comes as the family of Waterford man Jamie Weldon are also awaiting a meeting with Garda management to discuss his case.

Mr Weldon’s remains were found in his Iveagh Trust apartment on Upper Kevin St in Dublin on August 19, 2023. His last contact with people had been on July 28, 2023.

Mr Weldon’s siblings only discovered, after making a welfare check request on August 25, 2023, that remains believed to be that of their brother were in the Dublin City Morgue — almost a week after his body was discovered. 

Following a DNA test, his body was released to his family on September 15, 2023.

The family subsequently made a complaint to Fiosrú, the office of the police ombudsman, about the delay in informing his family that remains of a person believed to be Mr Weldon were in the morgue. It was not upheld.

Meanwhile, the family of Belfast man James O’Neill, whose remains were found in the Phoenix Park in November 2023, were not notified of his death until December 2024. They recently met with justice minister Jim O’Callaghan.