Gardaí investigating the death of sex offender in jail

Gardaí have begun an investigation into the death of a prisoner at Portlaoise Prison.

The dead man has been named as Seán Leamy (61), from Main Street, Tulla, Co Clare. A sex offender, he was found dead in his cell at about 7.15pm on Tuesday. Prison officers tried to revive him but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

His remains were taken to Portlaoise General Hospital for a postmortem. Sources said the early indications where that he had died of a heart attack.

A spokesman for the Irish Prison Service confirmed a man had died at the jail, adding that gardaí had begun an investigation as was normal with all deaths in custody.

A former Clare County Council graveyard official, Leamy was jailed last May for six years for sexually abusing five boys over 27 years.

A member of the Tulla Pipe Band for 30 years, he was also convicted of the theft of €20,000 over a 10-year period to 2009 after retaining money paid by families to the council for burial plots.