Report on the Death of Gary Douch

1st May 2014

The Report of the Commission of Investigation into the Death of Gary Douch was published today (1st May 2014), exactly 7 years and 9 months after the young man’s brutal death in Mountjoy Prison on 1st August 2006. 

The report, published almost 8 years after his death, found that the State failed in its duty to provide safe custody to 21-year old prisoner Gary Douch. 

IPRT responded highlighting the unacceptable delay in the report for the family of Mr. Douch, and also the failures detailed in the report, which led to his death.

On publication of the Commission report, IPRT restated a number of previous calls to the Minister for Justice, and the Irish Prison Service. These include an end to overcrowding, provision of additional spaces in psychiatric hospitals for the appropriate treatment mentally-ill prisoners, and to meet our obligations under the European Convention of Human Rights in delivering a prompt investigation into death's in prison.

The report investigated by Gráinne McMorrow SC and can be found here. 

Press Releases:

• IPRT: Never again: Irish Prison Service must set and implement safe custody limits now to avoid potential future tragedies
• Dept. of Justice: Statement by Minister Shatter and Minister Lynch on the publication of the Report of the Commission of Investigation into the death of Gary Douch and the Response by the Irish Prison Service.

Listen Back:

• Newstalk: Pat Kenny interviews IPRT's Deidre Malone and previous Governor of Mountjoy, John Lonergan (2 May 2014)
• RTÉ: 'Report finds death of Gary Douch in Mountjoy was avoidable' (1 May 2014)

Print Coverage:

• Irish Times: 'Report into Gary Douch death criticises jail staff' (1 May 2014)
• Irish Examiner: 'Commission blames systemic management failures for 'avoidable' death of Mountjoy inmate' (1 May 2014)
• Irish Examiner: 'Douch report results in 30 recommendations on prison system reform' (1 May 2014)
• Irish Independent: 'Brutal jail killing could have been avoided, inquiry finds' (1 May 2014)
• Irish Times 'Prison culture of transferring ‘problems’ resulted in violent death of young inmate' (2 May 2014) 
• Irish Times: 'Shatter apologises to family of murdered prisoner Gary Douch' (2 May 2014)
• Irish Examiner: 'Douch died after litany of system failures' (2 May 2014)
• Irish Examiner: 'Locked up and forgotten in Mountjoy' (2 May 2014)
• Irish Times: 'John Lonergan says he is not to blame for Douch events' (3 may 2014)
• Irish Examiner: 'Gary Douch death report makes for depressing reading' (3 may 2014)
• Irish Examiner: 'Psychotic killer ‘did not receive proper care’' (3 May 2014)
• Irish examiner: 'Douch inquiry hit by problems accessing data' (5 May 2014)

Online Coverage: 

• Newstalk: 'Report says 2006 death of Mountjoy inmate was avoidable' (1 May 2014) 
• theJournal.ie 'Death of Gary Douch, killed in Mountjoy, was “avoidable and should not have happened”' (1st May 2014)
• BreakingNews.ie 'Commission blames systemic management failures for 'avoidable' death of Mountjoy inmate' (1 May 2014)
• theJournal.ie 'Deirdre Malone IPRT-The brutal death of Gary Douch was avoidable' (2 may 2014)