Inquest Into Death Of Offaly Man Who Died While In Prison Adjourned

Wednesday, 25 March 2026 15:55

There are concerns of missing CCTV footage.

An inquest into the death of a prisoner while being physically restrained at Cloverhill Prison in Dublin almost six years ago has been adjourned to establish if more CCTV footage of the fatal incident is available.

Ivan Rosney (37), a father of four from St Cynoc’s Terrace, Ferbane, Co Offaly, died on September 28, 2020 after becoming unwell while being restrained by several prison officers in Cloverhill Prison.

Prison staff were attempting to bring him to a booth on the ground floor of the prison for a court appearance via video-link at the time. Mr Rosney, who had a history of mental health issues, had been remanded to prison a few days earlier after he was arrested following an incident in his father’s house when he became physically aggressive.

The inquest into the prisoner’s death was scheduled to begin at the Dublin District Coroner’s Court on Wednesday. However, the proceedings were adjourned by Dublin chief coroner, Myra Cullinane, without hearing any evidence or a jury being sworn in.

Dr Cullinane decided not to proceed with the case as scheduled after counsel for the Irish Prison Service, Simon Mills SC, said a number of issues had arisen after several witnesses had reviewed CCTV footage from inside Cloverhill Prison which was due to be shown to the jury.

Dr Mills explained that some prison staff believed there was a view from another camera angle of the incident looking down a corridor towards Mr Rosney’s cell that was not included in a video due to be shown in evidence.

He said it appeared that footage of the initial management of “an escalating situation” was “missing entirely.” However, Dr Mills said it was possible that the witnesses were wrong in their recollection about footage from another camera angle.

The barrister said the prison staff were anxious that the jury would have “a more complete picture” of what happened if all angles were available to be shown. Dr Cullinane agreed to adjourn the hearing to see if the IPS could confirm the existence of additional footage from the prison which was not included in a video compilation of CCTV from inside Cloverhill prepared by An Garda Síochána for the inquest.

Counsel for the Rosney family, Gabriel Gavigan SC, said he was “agnostic” on the issue but said any additional footage should be made available.

Offering her condolences to members of the deceased’s family who attended the hearing, Dr Cullinan said she hoped the inquest could resume again on a date in June.

At a preliminary hearing of the inquest in June 2023, it was revealed that the DPP had directed that no criminal prosecution should arise from the circumstances of Mr Rosney’s death following a Garda investigation.