Ballina man drowned while searching for friend

Ballina man drowned while searching for family friend


Anton McNulty

The death of a Ballina man who drowned after falling into the River Moy while searching the banks of the river for a family friend was described as a double tragedy for the town.
The body of Michael Thomas Helly (58), of Barrett Street, Ballina, better known as Tommy, was found on March 23 last by navy divers who were searching the river for 19-year-old David Higgins, who had been missing since March 13.
The inquest heard that he was a friend of the Higgins family and was very upset for them, and that he had taken part in daily searches of the river. It is believed that Mr Helly was searching the river bank on his own when he fell into the river and drowned. Mr Higgins’s body was eventually recovered in the Moy on March 27.
The post-mortem of Mr Helly showed that he had a ‘very high’ concentration of alcohol in his system and that this could have caused his fall into the river and could have caused him to drown faster than if he was sober.
Coroner for north Mayo, Dr Eleanor Fitzgerald said the search for Mr Higgins had showed the goodwill of the people of Ballina, but she pointed out that people with alcohol were better to stay away from such operations.
“If you are under the influence, it is better that you do not engage in the act of searching, especially on your own. The loss of two lives is a double tragedy for the town of Ballina, and the community was very upset at the time,” she said.
The body of Mr Helly was found in one metre of water approximately 200metres from the Boat House at around 2pm on March 23. He had not shown up for work in the Moy Club the previous day. While his friends were concerned for him, there had been no indication that he might have fallen into the Moy and there was no official search for him.
The last person who was believed to have seen him was Val Padden, the town traffic warden, who told gardaí that he saw him walking towards the town on March 21 at 2pm.
Ester Cummins, sister of the deceased, said she last saw him on March 20 and described him as being in good form and was planning on visiting his brother in England in May. She said he knew Mr Higgins and his family well and was a frequent visitor to their home and was concerned for them. She said he had searched the Moy daily since David Higgins had disappeared. Ms Cummins also said she did not know her brother was missing until the day he was found.
Dr Fitzgerald recorded a verdict of death by drowning but added that alcohol was a contributing factor in the death. She expressed her sympathy to the Helly family.
Inspector Joe Doherty said he knew Mr Helly well and described him as an absolute gentleman whose death was a huge loss to the town. He thanked all the emergency services for their help in the search and said the town had shown a lot of goodwill during that time.