bed in heaven Charity posts emotional tribute after homeless man found dead in tent near 'gates of the Dail'

'We knew this man, we have known him for seven years. That’s how long he took his chances on the street'

The charity said the man died in this tent on Monday afternoon

Neil Fetherstonhaugh

May 13 2022 01:35 PM

A charity has posted an emotional tribute saying “we hope you get the warmest bed in heaven” after the body of a homeless man was found in a tent close to Government offices.

Gardaí have confirmed that they are investigating the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the man's body on Lad Lane Upper, Dublin 2, on Monday afternoon.

The body was removed from the scene to Dublin City Mortuary for a post-mortem and a Garda spokesperson said enquiries are ongoing.

Homeless charity 'A Lending Hand' have said they had known the tragic man for seven years and posted photographs of the tent where he had been sleeping.

They wrote in a Facebook post how “a homeless man was found dead alone in a tent on Monday metres away from the gates of the Dáil”.

“How is this still allowed in 2022,” they asked. “A man that died alone on the cold hard ground in a tent he called home. (Homeless people need) better supports, addiction services and better mental health services.

"We knew this man, we have known him for seven years. That’s how long he took his chances on the street. He will be another statistic and forgotten just as quick, but we will remember you pal.

“We hope you get the warmest bed in heaven.”

In an another post the charity highlighted the death of another man, writing: "This is John, the face behind the headlines, the human behind the statistics,” they wrote on Facebook, alongside a picture of the victim.

“Johnny as we all knew him, everyone knew Johnny, that works within the homeless people of Dublin. He helped on every soup run there was, you would always hear him coming along greeting everyone at the table.

“We are so sorry you lost your life to the streets, to the neglect of our state, another human left to die on the streets of Dublin.“RIP Johnny we hope you are safe and warm in heaven.

“He is not another statistic, he was a person. A human, someone's son, father, husband, brother and uncle and that's how we would like to remember you Johnny.

There were 9,825 homeless people nationwide in March, an increase of 333 (3.5 per cent) on the previous month, according to the Department of Housing.

The number of children living in emergency accommodation also increased by 30 per cent, with 2,811 now homeless nationwide.

Latest figures show a record number of homeless single people, with more than 5,000 classed as living rough nationwide, 3,343 of whom are in the capital.

Homelessness in the capital has increased by 23 per cent compared to the same time last year, figures from the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive show.