‘No comment’ on inquest verdict – IFI
Inland Fisheries Ireland has declined to comment in relation to the issues and concerns raised by witnesses at an inquest into the death of a young man near Ballyheady.
Daniel Grimes (26) died after the car in which he was a passenger slipped into the Woodford River on September 21, 2019.
The inquest into the Kildare native’s death heard how a canal bank fence went unrepaired for almost a decade prior to the accident. Weeks after Mr Grimes death, it was claimed that IFI workers mended the near eight metres of damaged barrier.
Driver of the car, Mark Gilroy, expressed the opinion had there been “anything in the way at all”, it would have stopped the Nissan Micra sliding on the wet grass as it did.
“So it could have saved somebody’s life,” remarked County Coroner Dr Mary Flanagan.
“Inland Fisheries Ireland has no comment at this time,” a spokesperson for the state agency informed The Anglo-Celt when asked.
On behalf of Cavan Fire Service, Cavan County Council was also asked for a statement after the inquest heard incorrect coordinates initially directed emergency crews to the opposite side of the river bank and that appliances were not equipped with defibrillators despite volunteers being fully trained at the time.
A spokesperson estimated the car entered the water up to 10 minutes “before the emergency services were alerted”.
They accept there was an “additional delay” arising from co-ordinates supplied from a triangulation of the mobile phone signal but say their use was “deemed necessary” in the “absence of any other clear directions or location data initially”.
Describing the delay as “regrettable”, they say it is “highly unlikely” any intervention with an automated external defibrillator (AED) “could have succeeded in changing the outcome of this tragic accident given the timeframe involved, despite the best efforts of all who fought to save the victim’s life”.
The spokesperson concluded by stating that all fire appliances now carry a defibrillator on board, which provides local crews with “additional life-saving capabilities”.
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