McIvor Farrell Solicitors on the 30th of June 2025, published a statement on behalf of the family of our late client, Patrick McIlroy, following the release of the Prisoner Ombudsman’s report into the circumstances surrounding his death.
Patrick, aged just 27, died from a drug overdose on 9 June 2022, only three days after his release from Maghaberry Prison. He had served a 102-day sentence and was released without a coordinated support plan, addiction services, or any engagement with his family. He was found unresponsive in Belfast City Centre and pronounced dead shortly thereafter. The post-mortem confirmed the cause of death as heroin toxicity combined with ketamine and bromazolam.
Key Issues Raised by the Ombudsman’s Report
While the Prisoner Ombudsman found no individual failings in Patrick’s management by the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) or the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust, the report does highlight a number of critical systemic issues that require urgent reform.
1. Inadequate Addiction and Mental Health Support
Patrick received no meaningful addiction treatment during his 102-day sentence, despite a known history of substance misuse. The report underscores a troubling reality: delays in addiction care are widespread, with some prisoners waiting months or years for support. Vulnerable individuals like Patrick are often released with the same unaddressed mental health and addiction issues they entered prison with.
2. Lack of Post-Release Safety Nets
There was no structured reintegration plan in place for Patrick. He left prison with no housing, no contact with support services, and no connection with his family. The complete absence of a post-release safety net left him exposed to high, foreseeable risks, an all-too-common experience for short-term prisoners in Northern Ireland.
3. Systemic Failures in Rehabilitation
Short-term prisoners frequently fall through the cracks. The report identifies that individuals serving brief sentences are excluded from key rehabilitation programmes, meaning they are discharged with no preparation or tools to rebuild their lives. This lack of continuity fuels cycles of reoffending and harm, and, in tragic cases like Patrick’s, leads to preventable deaths.
4. Limitations of the Prisoner Ombudsman’s Office
Despite identifying serious systemic problems, the Ombudsman’s office has no legal powers to enforce change. It can only make recommendations, which can be ignored without consequence. In our view clients view, this is not good enough. There must be legislative reform to equip the office with the authority to hold public bodies accountable and compel change where needed.
McIvor Farrell Solicitors represent Patrick McIlroy’s family. Our Jack Murphy who acts for the family stated:
“Patrick’s death is a devastating example of what happens when vulnerable people are failed by the system. He was released from prison without the support he needed and died three days later. This is not justice, and it must not happen again. We are calling for urgent reform of the Prison Ombudsman’s office and of the support systems in place for vulnerable prisoners before, during, and after custody. We have made representations to the Coroners Service that the inquest into Patrick’s death, which has already been granted, must, in our client’s view, be Article 2 compliant, that is, capable of fully exploring the systemic failures that contributed to his death. A preliminary hearing in the inquest has been scheduled for September 2025. The family remains committed to seeking truth, accountability, and justice in Patrick’s name.”
If you would like more information or wish to speak to a member of the legal team representing Patrick’s family, please contact Jack Murphy at McIvor Farrell Solicitors via jack.murphy@mcivorfarrell.co.uk
Photo by Thomas Nugent, CC BY-SA 2.0
0 Comments