Bodies of two men pulled from Dublin canal

Emergency services attended the scene, where they discovered the bodies of the two men.

Both were pronounced dead at the scene.

Gardaí have identified both individuals, but the formal identification process is still ongoing.

It is believed that the two men were homeless Irish nationals.

The results of post-mortem examinations will determine the course of the investigation.

There are a number of homeless tents pitched nearby the scene of the incident.

News of the men’s deaths muted the mood at a festival for homeless people in Dublin today, Keira Gill, founder of A Helping Hand, a voluntary organisation which provides outreach services to homeless people in Dublin, said.

“People have been worried about who they were,” she said.

A minute’s silence was held for the deceased men at the festival on Mountjoy Square today, she said.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families that have lost someone this morning,” she said.

Ms Gill said that there should not be barriers along the canal and their presence could be pushing some people to camp closer to the water.

Barriers were erected along the Grand Canal after asylum seekers who could not get State or private accommodation started camping there.

On Thursday, Waterways Ireland, which is responsible for the canal, told the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that €125,000 has been spent on the barriers so far.

Ms Gill said that barriers are not the answer.

“Trying to find somewhere to camp is hard enough. If they find somewhere they feel safe, like the Grand Canal, barriers are not going to stop them going there.

“Barriers are not the solution anyway. Houses are. And mental health and addiction services.” Local councillors have also called for the barriers to be removed.

Local Labour Party Councillor Dermot Lacey said that the men’s deaths were “a tragedy.” He also said that control of the canals should be brought back to the local authority from Waterways Ireland, which has headquarters in Enniskillen in the North.

And the HSE should make the nearby empty Baggot Street Hospital available as accommodation, he said.