James O’Neill’s parents meet Minister to discuss circumstances of son’s death and identification

The parents of James O’Neill, the Belfast man whose body was found in the Phoenix Park in November 2023 but who didn’t learn of his death until over a year later, say they are still searching for answers regarding their son’s death, following a meeting with the Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan.The Minister met Paul and Ann O’Neill on Monday. “We’re glad that he met us,” said O’Neill’s father, Paul. “The fact that he took the time to meet us and tell us he was genuinely concerned about what happened, from that perspective, will give you hope that this is being taken really seriously. But we are ‘as you were’.”[ Man found dead in Phoenix Park unidentified for a year, despite ID in pocketOpens in new window ]The O’Neill family was not informed of their son’s death for 13 months. His remains were stored as “unidentified” in a Dublin mortuary, despite his name appearing on an initial post-mortem report, and on a CV found close to his body. Gardaí later discounted this name as a false ID. READ MOREAbout a year after his body was discovered, a forensic anthropologist examined his remains and found nine forms of identification in the jacket O’Neill was wearing.While his parents expressed their appreciation for the Minister meeting them, they said frustrations remain about what they characterise as “long, drawn-out processes” regarding clarity on elements of the Garda investigation, why there was no public appeal made, as well as their concerns about why it took so long to identify the body of their son. “I feel we’re just in the same situation,” said Ann O’Neill. The Garda Ombudsman, Fiosrú, is continuing to investigate the actions of gardaí in the case. At a hearing in the Dublin District Coroner’s Court last month, an inquest into the circumstances surrounding O’Neill’s death was adjourned for six months following a request from a representative of Fiosrú.“If a review of how these processes and protocols work to ensure nothing like this happens again, then it’s worth it. We wouldn’t wish this on anybody,” said Paul O’Neill.