Gardaí confirm identity of Cork body

Gardaí have confirmed that a body found in Cork today is the missing 18-year-old UCC student Caolan Mulrooney.

Gardaí have confirmed that a body found in Cork today is the missing 18-year-old UCC student Caolan Mulrooney.

Caolan's body was found this morning at the back of a business premises near Cork city centre. It is believed that he was fatally injured in a fall while climbing over a high wall.

The first year engineering student went missing in the early hours of Friday morning after going out with friends in Cork city centre on Thursday night.

His body was found at around 10am at the back of a motorbike shop on Blue Anchor Lane off Douglas Street today when the owner went to check his property in response to an appeal by gardaí for people living in the area to check their premises.

The man contacted gardaí who quickly arrived at the scene and after a local GP pronounced Mr Mulrooney dead at the scene, his body was removed to Cork University Hospital for a postmortem examination tomorrow by assistant State pathologist, Dr Margaret Bolster.

Gardaí had a confirmed sighting of Mr Mulrooney at Dean Street near St Finbarr's Cathedral at 1.17am on Friday morning and they believed that he crossed Barrack Street and began walking along Evergreen Street and Quaker Road towards his home in Rochestown.

They are investigating the possibility that he tried to cut down East View Tce of Quaker Road thinking it led on to Douglas Street only to find it was a cul-de-sac and then tried climb a six-foot high on his side, not realising there was a 30-foot drop on the other side.

Barry Roche

Barry Roche

Barry Roche is Southern Correspondent of The Irish Times