Accidental death verdict recorded following Belfast man’s Achill fall

A VERDICT of accidental death was recorded into the death of a Belfast man who was found dead at the bottom of a 20 foot causeway on Achill Island.

John Fitzpatrick (55) of 38 Grays Hills, Bangor, Co Down was discovered on July 13 last in a stream at the bottom of a 20 foot causeway at Corrymore Lake, which is the main water supply for the island. He was discovered by a walker at approximately 7.30am.

The inquest into the death of Mr Fitzpatrick concluded in Swinford Courthouse where the Coroner for Mayo recorded a verdict of accidental death.

The inquest heard that Mr Fitzpatrick was recorded missing to the PSNI on the evening of July 12, 2023 by his family. His sister, Ann Maria Fitzpatrick told the inquest that he phoned her at 7.20pm on July 12 and he was upset and his speech was slurred. She said he did not tell her where he was but he said he was going to jump off a cliff.

Mr Fitzpatrick was a regular visitor to Achill where he played music in the Wavecrest Hotel when he was younger and Gardaí in Mayo were contacted. A search of the area by Gardaí on July 12 failed to locate Mr Fitzpatrick.

The following morning, the emergency services were called to Corrymore when a walker discovered a body face down in the shallow stream. A statement from Garda Kevin Carey stated that a vehicle owned by Mr Fitzpatrick was parked nearby with his belongings in it.

A post mortem found that Mr Fitzpatrick did not suffer a head injury but suffered multiple broken ribs which resulted in an immediate collapse of his respiratory system. The cause of death was due to multiple injuries including multiple rib fractures and haemothorax 'most likely due to a fall'.

Blood taken for testing showed that the alcohol blood level was 357mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood which was above the lethal level and was considered a contributing factor to the fall.

When questioned by Mr Brendan O'Kelly, solicitor for the family of Mr Fitzpatrick, Dr Fadel Bennani, consultant pathologist in Mayo University Hospital stated that this level of alcohol would have made it difficult for anyone to protect themselves from a fall.

Dr Bennani confirmed that Mr Fitzpatrick did not die as a result of the alcohol level and was not dead before his fall as there was evidence of haemorrhaging after the fall. If he had already been dead before the fall he would not have bled, Dr Bennani died.

Mr O'Kelly said the family accepted that there was also no third party involvement in Mr Fitzpatrick's death and asked Mr O'Connor to consider a verdict of accidental death. This was due to the level of alcohol in Mr Fitzpatrick's blood and the absence of any evidence he was going to kill himself at the time.

Mr O'Kelly said that it was a matter of commonsense that nobody who intended to kill themselves would not throw themselves off a 20 foot ledge.

He said the family did not favour an open verdict as this would lead to suggestions that he may have taken his own life.

In considering the verdicts available to him, Mr O'Connor said that there was no evidence that Mr Fitzpatrick committed suicide and was satisfied that a verdict of misadventure was not appropriate in this case.

He concluded that his death was accidental and he fell and the cause of death was due to the injuries sustained following the fall.

Mr O'Connor recorded a verdict of accidental death and expressed his sympathies with his widow, Catherine and son Conor and his family and the community in Achill who know him through his music.

Court presenter, Sergeant Seán McHale also expressed his sympathy to the family of Mr Fitzpatrick adding that he was very fond of Achill and if he was fond of Achill, the people of Achill were fond of him.

Mr O'Kelly thanked Mr O'Connor for the sensitivity they showed the family throughout the inquest as well as the emergency services who attended to Mr Fitzpatrick and to Garda Carey for his courtesy in dealing with the family.