The family of a man who died in jail say they will not stop campaigning for answers until they “get the truth”.
Ivan Rosney passed away while in custody at Cloverhill Prison in Dublin following an incident, which led to him being restrained by staff on September 28.
The dad of three, in his 30s, had a history of mental health issues and was behind bars for breaching a barring order after he became physically aggressive with his father.
Now his grieving dad Des, from Co Offaly, claims he is being kept in the dark over the investigation by gardai and the Inspector of Prisons.
Des, 61, told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “All they’ve told us is that the investigation is still ongoing and they are still getting statements. The postmortem was inconclusive.
“Ivan was due to appear in court via videolink the day he died. We just want answers, we want to know what happened to him.”
Ivan’s aunt Anne O’Halloran, who is caring for his children, said: “When we rang the prison they just said, ‘Ivan has passed’. They had no details.”
Ivan started suffering with mental illness in his early 20s and was in and out of psychiatric treatment. According to his grieving dad, he was a gentle, kind man who was let down by the system. Des said: “Around March 2018, I had to get a barring order. Ivan ended up homeless. He ended up in Limerick prison for a public order offence.
“My wife Tina died five years ago. I have a young girl with special needs and it wasn’t safe for her because he was getting aggressive.
“When he was on remand in Portlaoise, a psychiatrist there put him on a different drug and it was working. When he was released I took him back and it was fine up until a few months ago.
“He sought help and was passed from one hospital to another – one of them just gave him four tablets to help him sleep and send him home. Ivan was two days off his 37th birthday.
“Growing up he was my shadow. We were best buddies until he got unwell, but it was the illness not him.
“My greatest fear is perhaps there’s going to be a cover-up.”
Des said he was “not one bit surprised” by a report from the Council of Europe’s anti-torture committee that found some prison officers in Ireland use more force than necessary.
Speaking in the Dail last week, Sinn Fein TD Mark Ward said: “One mentally ill man was found lying naked in his cell which was smeared with faeces, with a urine soaked poncho for cover.”
A spokesperson for the Irish Prison Service said: “The Irish Prison Service does not comment on ongoing investigations.”
