Tragic student drowned after night out with friends

The disappearance of a 25-year-old student – which sparked a widespread public appeal for information – ended four days later when a search party located his remains in muddy marshlands off Roscam, an inquiry into his death heard.

Jason McNulty, originally from Swinford, had travelled from Castlebar to Galway City with friends, and ended up at a party in an apartment at the Connacht Hotel in the early hours of Wednesday, February 18.

The Inquest at Galway Courthouse was told that he had been more drunk than normal, but his friends had let him sleep it off on a sofa. They left to find an open shop, but when they returned, Mr McNulty had left – but nobody could say where.

They drove around the city looking for him, and then headed back to Castlebar, hoping that he had found his way back.

His mother reported him missing later that morning and an earnest search began.

He had been captured on the hotel’s CCTV at 6.23am heading in the direction of GMIT, and two women separately reported to Gardaí that they had seen him at the junction with Roscam and the Dublin Road at about 6.30am.

One said that he was just wearing a t-shirt and jeans, and was waving his arms about, talking to himself.

“I saw the picture of him on Facebook, and it looked like the male I saw,” she told the Inquest.

Gardaí made an appeal through the media, which received both local and national coverage. On the Friday, the hotel grounds, the nearby estates, and the old Corrib Great Southern were searched.

The Civil Defence, search teams from Limerick and Nenagh, and joined Gardaí.

On a very wet Saturday, a large group of volunteers turned up to help, most parties were accompanied by a Garda.

Among them was family friend, Declan Byrne, who had travelled from Mayo on the Saturday to help.

Gardaí had conducted a briefing at the Connacht Hotel, before dividing up the volunteers into search parties, and assigning them different areas.

Mr Byrne was sent to Roscam, where he met a man harvesting seaweed.

“He pointed out an area to us, from his local knowledge,” he said.

“At 12 midday we saw what looked to be an elbow.”

The remains were in a tidal area with heavy mud, 600m from the nearest road, and 15m from the edge of the coastline.

Mr McNulty’s uncle, Vincent O’Connor, was in another search party, and made his way to Roscam to identify the body.

Sgt Paul Duane told the inquiry that the body would not have been visible only for the mud on his elbow had dried and fallen off. Death was pronounced at 2.25pm on February 21.

Consultant Pathologist, Dr Stephanie Curran, found no defensive wounds on the body, and only trivial abrasions.

Blood and urine samples were sent for toxicology examination, and the results came back showing a low level of alcohol in the body, at 75mg per 100ml of blood (the limit for driving is 50mg).

Rigor mortis was present when his body arrived at UHG, and when the post mortem examination was being carried out the following day – generally, this takes 24 hours to come on, and another 24 hours to leave the body.

Assistant Coroner for West Galway, Ciaran MacLoughlin Jnr, returned a verdict in accordance with the medical evidence that death occurred on February 21 at Roscam, and was due to asphyxia, secondary to immersion in water.

He expressed his condolences to the McNulty family on their terrible loss in such tragic circumstances.

He also thanked the witnesses who had come forward to help piece together his last movements.