'A very sad day for all of us' - Tributes paid as homeless men who died in canal tragedy named

Two homeless men whose bodies were recently recovered from Dublin’s Grand Canal near the Charlemont Luas stop have been named. 

Donal Scanlon from Ballybunion, Co. Kerry, and Alex Warnick, originally from the US, were both known to homeless services in the capital.

Their bodies were found by a passerby at around 8.15am on Saturday, leading to a large Garda operation.

Gardaí have said the two men were camping opposite a makeshift refugee camp.

At this moment, foul play is not suspected in the men’s deaths, but officers believe that they were involved in a tragic accident.

One line of inquiry is that one man entered the water and the other tried to save him, but they both drowned.

Postmortem examinations will dictate the course of the investigation, gardaí said.

Social Rights Ireland volunteer Róisín McAleer, who provides tents and supplies to homeless people, told Newstalk that the deaths are an indictment of Irish society.

“The situation is only going to get worse,” she said.

“The State policy that has created this situation for two men who have lost their lives but also for all of the people who are homeless on the streets and homeless in emergency accommodation.”

The number of people in emergency accommodation surpassed 14,000 for the first time ever in April - including over 4,000 children.

According to a report released in January by the Health Research Board, 121 homeless people died in 2020.

Half of the men who died were 42 or younger, while the homeless women who died were aged 36.5 or younger. Over half of the deaths happened in Dublin.

Tributes were paid to both men by the homeless services they used.

Aubrey McCarthy of the homeless service Tiglin told RTÉ: "It’s a sunny day in Dublin today, but it’s a very sad day for all of us here.

"The important thing is that often the homeless you see on the streets are invisible and you walk by them. So it’s highly important that the two deaths we are dealing with are not invisible. They are two gentlemen who have lost their lives."

Mr McCarthy added: "My heart goes out to the relatives of the two men who have lost their lives so tragically.

"People face many threats that those of us who are lucky enough to have a home do not have to face. This is isolating and scary."

Many reacted with tributes online, with one commenter adding: "The two men who drowned in the canal were like the 14 thousand other people were failed by this Government and were forced to live in tents".