A young prisoner, who shouted to a friend that he wanted to escape and was going to do something to get to hospital, was found hanged in his cell some hours later, Dublin City Coroner's Court heard yesterday.
Ms Regina Felloni told an inquest into the death of Mr Patrick Dunne (19), of Greencastle Crescent, Coolock, that she had a shouted conversation with Mr Dunne during recreation time on July 15th, 1997.
Ms Felloni said she knew Mr Dunne. He told her he wanted to escape and he was going to do something to get to hospital and he would escape from there. She added she thought he was only messing but later heard he was dead. Mr Dunne was found hanging by a sheet from the sink taps in his single cell in St Patrick's Institution shortly before 11 p.m. that night. He was in a sitting position under the sink. He was taken to the nearby Mater Hospital but died there on July 17th.
A post-mortem examination showed that death was due to hanging. The coroner, Dr Brian Farrell, said the case appeared to be an attempt at self-injury which went tragically wrong.
The jury of six men and one woman returned a verdict of death by misadventure.