A teenage Defence Forces apprentice’s death in 1991, treated officially as an “accident”, was regarded as suicide within his platoon, it has been revealed.

It has also emerged that, as well as investigating his death, the Defence Forces had also investigated a complaint Oliver Mullaney had been mistreated by a superior officer just days before he died.

The head of the Defence Force’s military police revealed the existence of the two investigations into Mr Mullaney’s death to tribunal lawyers when they interviewed him last month.

The revelation by Colonel Damien Coakley is the first time it has ever been made public there were two Defence Forces investigations into Mr Mullaney’s death and that it could have been caused by anything other than an accident.

Under cross examination by the tribunal’s senior counsel Michael Cush, the Irish forces provost marshal and director of military police told tribunal investigators he had become aware of “certain issues” around the death of Mr Mullaney in 1991.

He said he discovered there were two investigations into the 19-year-old’s death.

He found this out after he had been instructed by the tribunal to look into the investigation of Mr Mullaney’s death.

Mr Cush said: “In assisting the Defence Forces prepare for this tribunal, you became aware there were, in fact, two separate military police investigations in relation to the death of [Mr Mullaney]”.

Read full article by Neil Michael at the Irish Examiner website below.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41856930.html

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