Drowned man likely to have drifted from Dublin

Drowned man likely to have drifted from Dublin

18 September 2013

MYSTERY surrounds the death of a man found off the East Down coast, near Ardglass, in August last year.

The body of homeless man Fergal Kavanagh was found by fishermen less than a kilometre from the harbour.

At Belfast Coroner’s Court on Friday the cause of death was undetermined, but the inquest heard the 55 year-old, who enjoyed spending time near water, was an alcoholic with advanced coronary heart disease.

With no reason for his being in Northern Ireland uncovered, it is thought the Dublin man’s body, which was in the water for around a week, may have been washed up from the Dublin coast.

Mr. Kavanagh’s sister, Mary Roche, told the court that there had always been a home for her brother among her family but that he had remained homeless by choice.

“We tried to get him to settle down,” she said. “He was a lovely man, very gentle. All the children loved him. He did drink alcohol. I would say he had a drink problem. He drifted in and out of your life when he wanted.”

Mrs. Roche said her “very, very generous” brother used to be a butcher and would have brought food home to cook for the homeless, before falling in with their lifestyle.

“It was a life he chose himself,” she said.

She said she was “shocked” to hear his body had been found in Ardglass but added he had always loved spending time near water, where he would have sat and read poetry.

“He was always walking along canals,” she said. “He loved nature and poetry.”

Mr. Simon Rogers, from Portaferry RNLI, explained that two vessels had kept a marker by the drifting body near the Sheepland area until help arrived on August 18 last year.

When questioned by the coroner, Mr. Jim Kitson, Mr. Rogers said he had never recovered a body such as Mr. Kavanagh’s where there had been no apparent incident before his death.

He added he had been involved in the recovery of a diver’s body in the same area 10 years ago and had searched for other bodies that had never been recovered.

Mr. Rogers added that the “swirling” nature of the currents off Ardglass could keep a body in the area for some time.

Ms. Judith McNeice, from the Coastguard, said there were a number of possible places where Mr. Kavanagh’s body entered the water, but suggested the most likely option was Dublin.

The Deputy State Pathologist, Mr. Alistair Bentley, said the body had shown a marked degree of decomposition, which meant tests normally carried out to establish if a death was caused by drowning were not possible.

He said toxicology tests indicated an alcohol reading of one and quarter times the legal limit but noted this was not particularly significant.

Mr. Bentley said signs of advanced heart disease meant Mr. Kavanagh “may have had a heart attack before or after entering the water”.

“There are a considerable number of possibilities,” he said.

A police constable told the court that only the man’s fingerprints had identified him. He said his last address was a Salvation Army hostel in Dublin and was last seen there nearly two weeks before his death.

“He had a very poor history of accessing emergency accommodation,” he said.

The coroner told Mr. Kavanagh’s family the most likely explanation was that the deceased had some kind of coronary event while walking beside water near Dublin.

Extending his condolences to his family, Mr. Kitson said: “He seems like a very nice man. It is a tragedy obviously that he is no longer with us.”