'My son had nine forms of ID on him - why was he unidentified in a morgue?'

The family of a man from Northern Ireland whose body lay unidentified in a Dublin morgue for more than a year, despite him carrying identification, have said they are seeking answers about what happened to him.

The remains of James O'Neill, 43, from Belfast, were discovered in Phoenix Park in Dublin in November 2023.

However, it was December 2024, before the father-of-two's family were informed of his death.

His family said on Monday that they hope a police ombudsman investigation into the case in the Republic of Ireland will prevent similar incidents in the future.

The O'Neill family met investigators from Fiosrú, the office of the police ombudsman in the Republic, as they started their investigation into the case, Irish broadcaster RTÉ reports.

Paul O'Neill, James' father, said his family were looking for answers as to how the gardaí (Irish police) investigation was conducted.

He said his son had "nine separate identification items" in his pockets when he was found and was placed in the morgue as an unidentified person.

He also said the family had found it "really hard to get our heads around" the fact that gardaí did not make a public appeal in the case - and they want to see processes put in place to ensure a similar incident does not occur in the future.

The last few years have been "devastating, bewildering, confusing", Paul added.

"Sleepless nights, questions unanswered, and again the constant question: Why could this have been allowed to happen?

"It is just incredible as far as we are concerned."

The family's solicitor, Pádraig Ó Muirigh, said the case was "very tragic but also very preventable" and that there were "serious shortcomings" in the gardaí investigation.

Speaking to Good Morning Ulster, Ó Muirigh said there are also concerns about how the family were treated.

He said he hopes the family "will get some answers" to as well as answers surrounding the investigation conducted by the gardaí.

An inquest into the death was scheduled to take place in Dublin last week, but was adjourned.

The family have also engaged a former state pathologist in Northern Ireland, Jack Crane, to review the case.

Paul said his son had a great circle of friends and that he loved to travel.

"Regardless whose son it is, we don't think that anyone should be subject to the type of disregard and negligence that Jim was treated to," he added.

In a statement, gardaí said that as the matter is being investigated by Fiosrú, it was not in a position to comment.

Fiosrú confirmed it met the O'Neill family on Monday and said it had no further comment as the investigation was ongoing.