Young man found dead in wardrobe suffered fatal gunshot to head, inquest hears

Seán McCárthaigh

A young Dublin man whose body was discovered hidden in an apartment in Dublin last year suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the head, an inquest has heard.

The decomposing remains of Seán McCarthy (28) were found hidden in a wardrobe in a bedroom of an apartment on Achill Road, Drumcondra on August 6th last year.

Mr McCarthy had been reported missing from his home in Poppintree, Ballymun by his family earlier that day.

Relatives said he had not been heard from since August 2nd, when he was known to be in the Drumcondra area.

The opening of an inquest into Mr McCarthy’s death at Dublin District Coroner’s Court on Thursday heard that the deceased had to be formally identified by matching DNA profiles from a relative.

Sergeant Peter Foley gave evidence of taking a DNA sample from the deceased’s mother, Denise Duffy.

Sgt Foley described how he had been appointed as family liaison officer after Mr McCarthy had been reported missing before finding out a few hours later about the discovery of his body in an apartment in Drumcondra.

Coroner Cróna Gallagher said an analysis of DNA samples provided strong support that the deceased was a biological child of Ms Duffy.

The coroner also informed the hearing that post-mortem results showed Mr McCarthy had died as a result of a gunshot wound to the head.

Dr Gallagher explained that the formal date of Mr McCarthy’s death was August 7th, 2022, which was when he was formally pronounced dead by a medical practitioner shortly after his body was found the previous night.

However, gardaí believe he was killed on August 2nd last year.

Inspector Jim McDermott applied for an open-ended adjournment of the inquest on the basis that criminal proceedings had been initiated in the case.

Criminal proceedings

Insp McDermott informed the coroner that the DPP had directed a prosecution in relation to Mr McCarthy’s death and that an individual was due to go on trial before the Central Criminal Court next year on the matter.

Dr Gallagher granted the application and adjourned the hearing on a date to be fixed following the conclusion of any criminal proceedings in the case.

Dean Caffrey (36), of Beau Court, Achill Road, Drumcondra, Dublin, was charged at Dublin District Court on August 9th last year with Mr McCarthy’s murder a week earlier.

The court heard that Mr Caffrey “made no reply to charge after caution.”

A handgun believed to have been used in the fatal shooting of Mr McCarthy was subsequently recovered from the nearby Royal Canal following a major search by the Garda Sub-Aqua Unit.

Media reports at the time of his death suggested gardaí believed that the deceased, who was a known low-level drug dealer, may have gone to meet an individual who owed him money in order to settle his own drug debt.