A body which was found washed up on an English beach over 10 years ago has now been identified as Dublin man John Crawford who went missing from his home in Tallaght in 2000.
The body was discovered in December of the same year on Annaside Beach near the town of Bootle in Cumbria in the north west of England.
Attempts to identify the body were unsuccessful until the autumn of 2011 when the Garda obtained DNA from the personal belongings of Mr Crawford which they then circulated to police forces internationally.
A potential match was identified between a DNA sample which the English police had on file, and the DNA sample taken from Mr Crawford's belongings.
The Cumbria Constabulary was informed and a DNA match was confirmed.
Mr Crawford, who was born on March 2nd 1972, had been missing since October 17th 2000. Investigating gardaí remained in regular contact with his family and continued to try and establish his whereabouts and the case was highlighted on Crimeline in 2002 and on Crimecall in April 2007.
His family have been informed of the identification by the Garda's cold case review team.
The West Cumbria coroner is to apply for the inquest into the deceased to be reopened, however Cumbrian police have said that there is nothing to suggest that Mr Crawford's death was suspicious.
Detective Sergeant Colin Edgar of the Cumbrian police said that the work of the Garda Serious Crime Review Team, in liaison with Cumbria Constabulary, had combined to allow them to identify the remains and bring closure to Mr Crawford's family.
"Without the hard work, time and dedication of the officers in the Garda Serious Crime Review Team and NPIA missing person bureau these remains would not have been identified," he said.