Men who died in tragic double drowning at Dublin’s Grand Canal named locally

The bodies of Donal Scanlon (49) and Alex Warnick (42) were discovered at around 8am on Saturday morning at a section of the canal near Grand Parade and the Charlemont Luas stop.

Members of Dublin Fire Brigade removed the bodies from the water and placed them on the canal bank behind a large screen until they were removed to the city morgue for post mortem examinations.

Mr Scanlon is believed to have been from Co Kerry originally, while Mr Warnick is believed to have been from the US.

Both men were known to each other and had lived in Dublin where they were known to the homeless services.

They were sleeping in two adjacent tents on the canal bank close to where their bodies were found.

A third man who was sleeping in the vicinity at the time has also been interviewed by gardaí in an effort to try to establish the sequence of events leading up to the double tragedy.

The Dublin Region Homeless Executive offered its sympathies to the family and friends of both men.

“The DRHE has been in contact with An Garda Síochána and we can confirm that both men were known to the homeless services,” it said in a statement.

The two men who died were camped close to a larger number of tents on the opposite side of the canal currently occupied by a number of asylum seekers.

A statement by An Garda Síochána said gardaí at Donnybrook are investigating all of the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the bodies of the two men at Grand Parade.

“Shortly after 8am, 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,” it said.

The Office of the State Pathologist and the local Coroner have been notified, and the results of post-mortem examinations will determine the course of garda investigations.