Inmate who died violently in prison had to be identified by his fingerprints, inquest hears

Martin Salinger was found dead in his cell on D1 landing at Cloverhill Prison on October 5, 2024, following an alleged row. File Photo: Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie

A prisoner who suffered a violent death in Cloverhill Prison in Dublin last year had to be identified by fingerprint evidence due to the extent of his injuries, an inquest has heard.

Martin Salinger, aged 43, a horse and carriage driver from Ballyfermot, was found dead in his cell on D1 landing at Cloverhill Prison in Clondalkin on October 5, 2024, following an alleged row.

The deceased, who came originally from The Liberties, had been in the prison for a couple of months after being remanded in custody on drugs and firearms offences after gardaí recovered a handgun and €20,000 worth of cannabis from a property in Ballyfermot.

It is understood three prisoners were in the two-man cell at the time of the fatal incident. One of the other occupants of the cell also sustained injuries during the incident and required treatment in the prison infirmary.

Detective Garda James Cunningham of the Garda Technical Bureau told a sitting of Dublin District Coroner’s Court on Thursday that he attended Cloverhill Prison for the removal of Mr Salinger in a body bag from the cell on the morning of October 5, 2024.

Det. Garda Cunningham said he subsequently attended Dublin City Mortuary in Whitehall where a postmortem examination was carried out during which finger and palm prints were taken from the victim’s body for identification purposes.

The coroner, Cróna Gallagher, said a statement from Forensic Science Ireland confirmed the identity of the body as that of Mr Salinger. Dr Gallagher revealed that the results of the autopsy showed that the deceased had died from blunt force injuries to the head, neck and face.

Criminal case

Inspector Brian Hanley applied for an adjournment of the case under Section 25 (2) of the Coroners Act on the basis that criminal proceedings have already been initiated in relation to Mr Salinger’s death. Dr Gallagher granted the application and adjourned the case for a date to be fixed after the conclusion of any criminal prosecution in the case.

No member of Mr Salinger’s family attended the brief hearing but they were aware of the proceedings.

Another prisoner, Liam O’Neill, aged 30, of Garrison Mews, Loughlinstown, Co Dublin, was charged with the murder of Mr Salinger at a court sitting last December. Mr O’Neill was also charged with assault causing harm to another prisoner during the same incident.