Inquest hears of sad passing of popular Shrule publican on Christmas Day

A SHRULE publican who was found dead at the bottom of stairs in his home on Christmas Day morning died as a result of a massive heart attack.

The inquest into the death of 51-year-old Ronan Gibbons heard that he suffered a massive heart attack which was the cause of his sudden death on Christmas Day, 2022. The popular Shrule publican was found dead at the bottom of the stairs of his home at 8am and pronounced dead at the scene.

The results of the post mortem found that the cause of death was due to ischemic heart disease due to acute coronary atheroma, due to chronic obstructive airways disease also known as emphysema.

Coroner for the district of Mayo, Mr Patrick O' Connor, told the inquest which took place in Swinford yesterday (Monday) that the cause of death was due to a massive heart attack and death would have been instant.

The inquest heard that Mr Gibbons had closed the pub on Christmas Eve and had been talking to his wife Lorraine in the family home behind the pub about the evening and how everyone had been in good form.

His wife Lorraine said he had two drinks before going to bed while she arranged the Christmas presents for their two young children and made arrangements for Christmas Day. She said he was asleep when she went to bed but when she awoke the next morning he was not beside her and found him at the bottom of the stairs.

She told the inquest that she rang 999 and was told to start compressions while the ambulance service was on the way. She said her husband's brother Paul and the ambulance service arrived shortly afterwards and took over care. She said the rest of the morning was a blur.

The inquest heard that the couple had been married for seven years and she said that Ronan ran the pub and was always busy and on the go. She said his health had been good but added it was not unusual for him to get up in the middle of the night.

The late Ronan Gibbons. 

No pulse

GARDA John Doherty told the inquest he arrived at the scene at around 9am and was informed by the ambulance service that there was no pulse or response from Mr Gibbons.

He said the body of Mr Gibbons was located at the bottom of the stairs and there was blood on his head. Garda Doherty said he was familiar with the people involved and added it was a tough day for everyone.

Mr O'Connor said there was no evidence that the fall down the stairs led to his death and recorded a verdict of death due to natural causes.

He said he had cause to meet Mr Gibbons on occasions and described him as a genial and gentle person who had all the attributes of a good publican who was part of the community.

He expressed his deepest sympathy to Lorraine and her two children saying that for a young man to die on Christmas Day while the children were expecting Santa Claus was a tragedy which words could not express.

He said that while these are sad times for all involved he hoped that they will be able to remember all the happy times they had together.

Sergeant Regina Carney also expressed sympathy to the Gibbons family on behalf of An Garda Síochána.