Renewed calls have been made for an independent inquiry into the death of Terence Wheelock who died following a period of detention at Store Street Garda station 19 years ago.
Clare Daly, who is running as an election candidate in Dublin Central, said Mr Wheelock’s family have “never accepted as credible claims that his wounds were self-inflicted.”
Store Street Garda Station
Terence Wheelock, a 20-year-old from Summerhill, was arrested in relation to a Garda investigation into a stolen car and was brought to Store Street Garda station on June 2, 2005.
Several hours after his arrest, according to Garda reports, Terence was found unconscious in his cell with a ligature tied around his neck.
The young man went into a coma and died in the Mater Hospital on September, 16, 2005.
An inquest into Terence’s death held at Dublin District Coroner’s Court in 2007 returned a majority verdict of suicide.
A 2010 Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) investigation into Terence’s death concluded that there was “no credible evidence” he had been mistreated while he was being held in custody at Store Street.
Mr Wheelock’s family say the 2010 GSOC investigation and Coroner’s case omitted crucial evidence including Terence’s blood-stained T-shirt.
“Terence Wheelock’s family, in the nearly 20 years since his death, have not given up their fight to find out how he suffered the brutal injuries to his neck and body from which he died,” Clare Daly said.
“They have never accepted as credible claims that his wounds were self-inflicted.
“Their fight for justice was supported by their local community but resulted in a campaign of Garda harassment which included threats and the terrorising of the family in their own home.
“They need answers concerning what happened to Terence and how the force, members of which they believed were responsible for his death, could then publicly terrorise them with impunity.”
Clare Daly said Mr Wheelock’s death did grave damage to relations between the Inner-City local community and the gardai.
“The death of Terence Wheelock and the incidents following it damaged already fragile Garda and community relations in the North Inner City of Dublin for many years,” she said.
“The Wheelock family continues to suffer.
“Transparency must be brought to this case to ensure the end of a culture of impunity and serving the interests of the connected rather than the people when it comes to policing in Ireland.”
Independent Dublin City Councillor, Cieran Perry, also joined Daly in calling for a new investigation.
“I was among those who directly experienced the campaign of harassment of the Wheelock family by gardaí,” Cllr Perry said.
“In one incident, shortly after Terence’s death, I was in the Wheelock home when a large number of gardaí surrounded it.
“They shone powerful torches in the windows and shouted out Terence’s name and vile obscenities.
“This uniformed mob remained outside the home for a considerable time.
“It was only after a local TD was requested to come to the property that I and a journalist, there to interview the family, felt safe to leave past at least a dozen gardaí.
“I am also aware of Garda visits to the homes of journalists who reported on the case in a manner which they believe was aimed at curtailing media attention.
“The Wheelock family, their community and local political activists have always called for a full and independent inquiry into Garda actions surrounding Terence’s fatal injury and the force’s behaviour in its aftermath.
“We believe Clare Daly, with her record of fearless work supporting Garda whistleblower Maurice McCabe and her advocacy as a TD and MEP, alongside Mick Wallace, for other victims of alleged police criminality, can force the next government to finally provide the Wheelock family with the independent inquiry that they demand.”
As well as the calls from Daly and Perry, an online petition, started a few months ago by Cllr Conor Reddy, is calling on Dublin City Council Councilors to “Take Action for Terence Wheelock.” The petition, which has garnered over 800 signatures so far, states: “As we approach the 20th anniversary of Terence’s untimely death (September 2025) and the election of a new City Council in Dublin, we call on Dublin City Council to:
“1. Write to the Minister of Justice endorsing the call for an independent public enquiry into Terence’s death.
“2. Name The Diamond Park in Dublin 1, Terence Wheelock Memorial Park.
“3. Commission a mural in memory of Terence in the Summerhill area, where the Wheelock family lived.”