MACROOM INQUEST ‘BOYCOTT’ CORONER TO ISSUES SOMMONSES AFTER EIGHT WITNESSES TO FATAL FIRE FAIL TO APPEAR
A CORK coroner is to issue witness summons to eight members of the public after they failed to attend an inquest into the deaths of two men who died from smoke inhalation following a house fire in Macroom earlier this year.
Coroner for South Cork, Frank O’Connell said it could not be a coincidence that some eight civilian witnesses failed to attend the inquests into the deaths of Kenny Relihan (26) and Noel O’Mahony (64) in a house fire at St Colman’s Park in Macroom on May 2 last.
Mr O’Connell said it appeared the witnesses, including Mr Relihan’s mother, Noreen McAuliffe, who was seriously injured in the fire, and neighbours, Ryan Manning and Timmy Coleman, who tried to save the two deceased, were ‘ boycotting’ the inquest for some reason.
“I want to assure these civilian witnesses that they have nothing to fear, they have nothing to be concerned about – an inquest is not about apportioning blame and two of the witnesses who did not attend today made heroic efforts to try and save those who died,” said Mr O’Connell.
“We don’t criticise anybody at an inquest and it’s very important that people who have information that can assist our inquiry attend to give that evidence in order to establish in the public interest what exactly happened in this case,“he said.
Mr O’Connell said that he would be issuing witness summons for some eight civilian witnesses to attend the inquest and he would be requesting An Garda Siochana to assist so as to ensure that all attend the hearing which he adjourned until January 24, 2017.
The inquest heard evidence from Commander Kevin Kingston of Macroom Fire Brigade who told how the brigade responded to an emergency call at 3.55am on May 2,d 2016 that two people were trapped in a house fire at a two storey terraced house in St Colman’s Park in Macroom.
They arrived at the house at 4.03am to discover the fire well under way with heavy thick smoke throughout the building and they battled to bring it under control and, when it was safe to do so, two teams entered the building using breathing apparatus.
One team, Paul Lynch and Ian Wiseman, made their way upstairs where they found Mr O’Mahony between the bed and the window in a front bedroom while the second team of Jerry O’Leary and Aidan O’Driscoll recovered Mr Relihan from a hall between the kitchen and the sitting room.
Both men were removed from the house and local GP Dr Peter Cronin, who had treated and knew them personally, identified both men before pronouncing them dead at the scene at 4.59am and 5.01am respectively; before their bodies were removed to Cork University Hospital for autopsies.
Mr Kingston said that, from his 18 years in the Fire Service, he believed the fire started in the kitchen area, which was far more badly damaged than other areas of the downstairs, and the heat was so intense that it blew out the back patio door.
Garda technical expert Garda Kealan O’Keeffe said she carried out a forensic examination of the scene and was satisfied the fire started accidentally in the kitchen, where it appeared a chip pan on an electric cooker caught fire with the most extensive damage being directly over the cooker.
Garda Patrick O’Leary told how gardai received a call at 3.50am that a number of people were making noise in St Colman’s Park and he and a colleague were on their way when they heard the fire brigade alarm go off and they arrived to discover the house on fire.
Garda O’Leary said he arrived to discover Ryan Manning and Timmy Coleman had attempted a rescue but were forced back by the smoke. The front door was open and he looked in but he could not see anything because of the smoke and he heard neighbours shouting.
“They were shouting ‘He (Mr O’Mahony) is at the window, he is at the window. I was hoping against hope someone was alive in there. But in my heart I doubted that it was possible. I could see no signs of life,” he said. “There were sounds but it was the cracking and popping of the structure as it burned.”
Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster said she carried out autopsies on both men and found Mr O’Mahony, who had an alcohol blood content of 247mgs, had a carbon monoxide level of 35pc and Mr Relihan, who had a blood alcohol level of 213mgs, had a 38pc carbon monoxide level.
Carbon monoxide poisoning was generally not fatal below 50pc but Mr O’Mahony suffered from an enlarged heart and coronary artery disease while Mr Relihan had also suffered burn injuries in the fire, said Dr Bolster, who found both men’s windpipes were heavily coated with soot.
She said that Mr O’Mahony died from carbon monoxide due to smoke inhalation in association with an enlarged heart and coronary artery disease while Mr Relihan died from carbon monoxide poisoning due to smoke inhalation in association with burns.
A native of Clondrohid, Mr O’Mahony – who used to sing locally under the stage name Leon Haymoon – is survived by his wife, Sheila and daughters, Noreen, Joanne and Paula. Mr Relihan, from Macroom, is survived by his parents, Noreen and Barty, sisters, Sinead and Edel and brother, Jonathan.