Locals’ efforts to save Rev Grainger praised

Ciara Galvin

Coroner for Mayo south John O’Dwyer hailed the Irish Coastguard and the community of Achill for their efforts in dangerous weather to recover the body of Reverend Roger Grainger of Doogort, Achill, after his car became submerged in flood waters.
The inquest into the death of the former actor and retired clergyman heard that September 13, 2015, Rev Grainger had attended dinner at The Bervie restaurant run by his friends John and Elizabeth Barrett.
A statement from Ms Barrett, which was read out to the court, described how Rev Grainger thanked the couple for the meal before leaving the establishment at 10pm that night, saying he would ‘say a prayer for us’.
On the same night, Mark Davitt was driving with his girlfriend, Nora McNamara, in the direction from Keel to Doogort.
Mr Davitt said the weather was bad and there was a lot of flooding in the area. At one point he and another vehicle, a white van, were forced to reverse as the road was flooded.
Mr Davitt had to stop a time later to fix a guard that had came loose from the vehicle. While checking the vehicle, his girlfriend Nora observed a car driving down the road in the direction of the floodwater, and she beeped the horn in an attempt to get its attention. As they could no longer see the vehicle they assumed it got through the flood.
They took another route on a ‘high road’ to avoid the flood to Ms McNamara’s home. Ten minutes later, the couple returned to the flood in case the car they had seen ‘needed a tow’. Mr Davitt drove his jeep onto a grass verge to avoid the water. When the jeep’s lights shone onto the floodwater, the tail light of a car submerged in the water was visible.
Mr Davitt attempted to go into the flood water, but Ms McNamara pulled him back, fearing for his safety.

Dangerous
The couple then contacted emergency services. They also contacted Ms McNamara’s father and brother, Edward and Paul, who made their way to the scene with Dermot Lavelle. The four men then took to the flood in pairs in an attempt to recover the body.
“Paul got the boot open and he found a hand. He started to try to pull the body out of the car, but I thought it was too dangerous with the drag of water. We knew the person was dead, and I didn’t want anyone else getting into danger, so I directed him to step away,” Edward McNamara stated.
The inquest heard that Mr McNamara had never saw flooding of that level in the area.
Giving evidence, Robert Joyce of the Irish Coast Guard arrived at the scene at 10.16pm and coordinated a search of the rest of the car and area to ensure no one else was inside the car.
Thomas McLoughlin of Achill Fire Brigade told the inquest that on exiting his vehicle, he was ‘waist deep’ in water. Rev Grainger was recovered from the car and was pronounced dead at 11pm, he said.
The inquest heard that there was approximately four feet of water on the road that night, and Dr Fadel Bennani, a consultant pathologist at Mayo University Hospital, found that the 82 year old died from asphyxia due to drowning.
The jury subsequently returned a verdict of accidental death.
Sergeant Rory Brennan commended volunteers for their help on the night, in what he described as ‘a very bad night’, as too did Supt Joe McKenna. The coroner said the efforts by voluntary services and local people were a ‘shining example’ of what it was to be Irish and to help people.