Connacht Tribune
Circumstances of tragic drowning may never be known
The circumstances surrounding the drowning of a Connemara fisherman may never be known, an inquiry into his death was told last week.
In what was a second inquiry into his death, members of a jury were told by the Coroner for West Galway, Dr Ciarán MacLoughlin, that questions raised by the man’s family, who were a ‘seafaring family’, gave cause to call an expert witness.
The body of Michael Mulkerrin (47), from Carna, was found at Rinville, Oranmore, on November 23, 2017, just hours after a search operation was launched when Mr Mulkerrin failed to return to the Docks having left on the morning of November 22.
Mr Mulkerrin’s boat was found near Silverstrand in Barna and his family had previously said it was their belief that his body would not have been carried by the current on that particular night to the location in Oranmore where he was eventually found.
The inquest heard from the housemate of Mr Mulkerrin, Danielle Butler, that the pair had been house sharing in Coillte Merlin, Ballybane, and had shared a taxi to town on the morning of November 22.
“[Mr Mulkerrin] said he had a few things to do around town, like going to the Credit Union, and then he was going out on the boat.
“I work in Dock 1 [bar on Dock Road] and he would usually come in after he returned. He didn’t come in that evening,” said Ms Butler.
Ross Forde, a volunteer with the RNLI, said the alert was first raised with them around 9pm on the night in question and told Dr MacLoughlin they had launched in the direction of Rinville, given their technology had indicated this was where the tide was going.
The rescue helicopter later found the boat at around 11pm and volunteer with the RNLI, David Badger, was first to inspect the vessel, turning on the lights but finding there was no sign of Mr Mulkerrin on board.
“His phone was in the cabin and the boat was ticking over, and the engine was in neutral,” said Mr Badger.
There was some dispute over whether or not the engine was running, but Mr Mulkerrin’s father, Marcas Mulkerrin, said he believed this account was correct as it was his son’s practice to leave the boat running when checking lobster pots.
While the day had started calm, the inquiry heard that conditions had begun to deteriorate and that wind speeds reached somewhere between Force 5 and Force 8.
Martin Oliver of the RNLI noted that there were a number of lobster pots hanging overboard and that there was a rope caught around the propeller.
“The boat was facing with its back, the stern, into the weather and wind,” said Mr Oliver.
A decision was taken to bring the boat back to the docks where Mr Oliver said Marcas Mulkerrin and his son, Patrick were waiting.
The search was suspended for the night at around 2.30am due to worsening conditions but was recommenced at 8am the following morning.
A body was discovered by RNLI crew at Rinville at around noon on Thursday, November 23, when those aboard the Aran Lifeboat saw what they believed to be yellow oil skins on the beach.
Garda Nicholas Delaney got to the scene at 12.45pm where he witnessed the body of a man, dressed in yellow oil skins.
Dr Dan Murphy pronounced the man dead at 1.24pm.
Due to questions raised in the previous inquiry, Kieran Lyons of the Marine Institute in Oranmore was commissioned to carry out a simulation establishing the possibility for Mr Mulkerrin’s body to have gone overboard at Silverstrand and to have reached Rinville by the next morning.
The family had said they didn’t believe it possible, due to the fact that Mr Mulkerrin was still wearing wellington boots when his body was discovered.
Marcas Mulkerrin said he felt the boots would have acted as “an anchor”, dragging his son to the ocean bed – particularly as he wasn’t wearing a life jacket when found.
Mr Lyons stated: “It was plausible, though not inevitable, for a body to be transported to the location where Mr Mulkerrin was found”.
A simulation was used to establish an assertion by Mr Lyons that to have reached Rinville, Mr Mulkerrin’s body could not have been less than three meters from the surface.
“Mr Mulkerrin was not wearing a life jacket and so we cannot assume his body remained above the surface,” he added.
A post mortem examination was carried out by Consultant Pathologist at UHG, Dr Thomas Fitzgerald, on November 24.
Dr Fitzgerald said there was no evidence of any other injuries and said his findings were “death as a result of drowning”.
The Coroner, Dr MacLoughlin told the jury they would have to be considerate of the fact that they did not know how Mr Mulkerrin ended up in the water.
“What we don’t know is how he got in the water – whether it was as a result of falling over, that is purely speculation.
“We don’t know if he went in intentionally – that would be speculation. There is no evidence of a struggle onboard [the boat] and there is no evidence of a struggle on the body,” he outlined.
The foreman of a seven-person jury returned a unanimous decision of “drowning, with an open verdict”.
Dr MacLoughlin said the inquest could not establish an exact location of where the death occurred but would record it as Galway Bay.
“The finding of an inquest is that Michael Mulkerrin died in Galway Bay on November 22, 2017. The cause of death, in accordance with the medical evidence, is drowning, with the qualification of an open verdict,” said Dr MacLoughlin.
He extended his sincere sympathies to the family of Mr Mulkerrin and thanked the jury for carrying out their civic duty.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
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