Missing persons - Coroner Service

In Ireland, the coroner is required by law to inquire into the cause of a range of reportable deaths, including unexpected, unexplained, violent or unnatural deaths.

This inquiry is an independent inquiry to determine the cause of death of the person and to ensure that a death certificate can be issued. In some circumstances, coroners may need to direct a pathologist to carry out a post-mortem on the deceased and, in certain cases, may also need to hold an inquest.

The coroner’s inquest is an important public service, particularly for the family and friends of the person who has died.

A full list of all coroners in Ireland and their contact details can be found on www.coroners.ie

In June 2021, the Minister for Justice wrote to each coroner, requesting information on all unidentified human remains within their coronial districts. These results were collated by the Department of Justice and shared with An Garda Síochána.

From 2022 onwards, coroners are obliged by law to provide details of any unidentified human remains reported to them in the preceding year to the Minister for Justice, as part of a new statutory annual return to the Minister.

In 2023, the Unidentified Remains database was published following an analysis of Coroners records. While the data made available comprises the first full list of unidentified remains, additional cases may come to light each year. As a result the department intends to publish updates to the unidentified remains data on an annual basis.

Work is ongoing between the Department of Justice, An Garda Síochána and Coroners to enhance the functionality of the database and to incorporate other information, which may result in the inclusion of certain images and additional details in relation to remains which may come to light over time.

For further information please visit: www.coroners.ie