July 6, 2024: Gardaí at Dublin's Grand Parade where the bodies of two males were recovered from the canal.RollingNews.ie
Alex Warnick, 42, who is originally from the US, and Donal Scanlon, 49, who is originally from Co Kerry, have been named locally as the victims of the double drowning on Dublin's Grand Parade on Saturday, July 6.
Both men were known to homeless services in Dublin and had been camping in two tents pitched by the water's edge at Grand Parade.
An Garda Siochana said on Saturday, July 6 that shortly after 8 am, Gardaí and emergency services responded to reports of a body in the canal at Grand Parade.
The bodies of two males, aged in their 40s, were recovered from the canal a short time later. Both were pronounced deceased at the scene.
Gardaí said on Saturday that they were investigating all the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the bodies and that the Office of the State Pathologist and the local Coroner had been notified.
The results of post-mortem examinations and local enquiries will determine the course of Garda investigations.
It is believed that Warnick may have fallen into the water and that Scanlon rushed to his aid. However, both men drowned in the incident.
Social Rights Ireland volunteer Roisin McAleer said the incident is an indictment of Irish society and amplifies the homeless crisis in Dublin.
"The situation is only going to get worse," McAleer told Irish radio station Newstalk.
"The State policy has created this situation for two men who have lost their lives but also for all of the people who are homeless on the streets and homeless in emergency accommodation."
The Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE) offered its condolences to the two men and said there is "sufficient emergency accommodation" for homeless people in Dublin. DRHE urged people in need of accommodation to "contact their local authority".
"We encourage members of the public to download the Rough Sleeper Alert app to assist teams in supporting people most at risk," DRHE said in a statement on Saturday.
The two men had been living in pop-up tents opposite a makeshift refugee camp on the opposite banks of the Grand Canal, according to widespread reports.