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Mother of jail death man Gerard Mulligan says he is ‘finally at peace'

Gerard Mulligan died on Saturday evening while on remand at Maghaberry Prison
Gerard Mulligan died on Saturday evening while on remand at Maghaberry Prison Gerard Mulligan died on Saturday evening while on remand at Maghaberry Prison

THE mother of a man who took his own life in prison after being charged with murdering his father has said her son is "finally at peace".

Father-of-three Gerard Mulligan (44) died on Saturday evening while being held on remand at the high-security Maghaberry Prison.

He had been accused of murdering his father, Gerald Mulligan, whose body was found in the boot of a car near his home in Lisburn in September.

A court was told the victim, aged in his seventies, had been struck with a breeze block.

The PSNI, coroner and Prisoner Ombudsman have launched investigations into the inmate's death.

His Requiem Mass will take place on Wednesday at 1.30pm at St Agnes's Church in west Belfast, with cremation at Roselawn.

Mr Mulligan's mother Eileen, from west Belfast, paid a heartfelt tribute to her son in a poignant newspaper family notice.

The short message read: "My dearly beloved son, finally you are at peace. I will miss your big hugs. Forever loved and missed by your mummy Eileen. x."

Mr Mulligan is also survived by his three children Sarah, Shane and Mia, and his sisters Eileen, Geraldine, Angela and Siobhan.

In a separate notice, his sisters said: "We never got to say goodbye to you, our only brother. Memories are all we have of you until we meet again. You'll never know how much we loved you."

On Tuesday his partner Michelle Logue, from north Belfast, shared a picture of the pair on her Facebook page.

She also said in a notice: "You are the love of my life big lad and I love you more than you will ever know, they called us Bonny and Clyde, it was so true, you are at peace now and you will have no more pain. Rest in peace my baby, love forever."

Mr Mulligan, from Lisburn, was arrested shortly after his father's body was found in a car near his home at Limehurst Way.

A court heard that he had gone to his father's house to repair a vehicle, but an argument later ensued.

A detective said he "does admit to striking in some way his father with a breeze block, whether that was intentional or not".

Lisburn Magistrate's Court heard that after the pensioner's death, the accused took drugs and called his partner.

A detective said he told the woman: "I've murdered my dad... and he's in the boot of the (Vauxhall) Tigra."

He was taken under armed police guard for psychiatric assessment at Belfast's Mater Hospital, the court was told.

On Sunday, acting Prison Service director general Phil Wragg expressed his sympathies with the prisoner's family.

Maghaberry in Co Antrim houses long-term sentenced and remand prisoners in both separated and integrated conditions.

There have been several deaths at the complex since a damning official report last year branded it "unsafe and unstable".