A man who was declared dead by staff at the Mater hospital in Dublin earlier this month was subsequently found to be alive when mortuary personnel came to collect his body from his hospital bed, Eithne Donnellan, Health Correspondent.
By that time, however, the man's family had already been informed of his death and were grieving their loss.
However, they were informed by the Mater hospital some time later that there had been a terrible mistake.
Fortunately, the man was still actually alive.
The man, who has a disability, is in his 30s.
It is understood that he has since been discharged from the hospital and has gone home.
The events occurred in the hospital on Easter Sunday.
The Mater has established an inquiry to examine all the circumstances surrounding the incident.
When contacted by The Irish Times, a hospital spokesman confirmed the incident had taken place and said that an internal investigation was under way.
One source close to the hospital said: "This man certainly was pronounced dead and, some time later, I understand he was very much alive."
Another source said: "Relatives were informed that this man had died, and when a guy from the morgue came up to collect his body he said he wasn't dead at all."
He added: "Needless to say, the hospital is very perturbed at what happened."