The Department of Justice has described as "tragic" the death of a young man in St Patrick’s Institution in Dublin overnight.
Gardaí and the prison’s Governor are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a 19-year-old man whose body was discovered in bed when prison staff unlocked his cell at about 8.15 a.m.
According to a spokesman for the Department of Justice Prison Section the man appeared to have died of natural causes and nothing suspicious was found in his cell. He said a coroner's inquest will be conducted to establish the exact cause of death.
The man was sentenced yesterday to six months "for using a motor vehicle without the consent of its owner", the spokesman said. He had previously been held in Cloverhill on remand.
The man’s name has not been released.