Death By Misadventure Verdict In Buncrana Pier Inquest
The deaths of all five people who drowned in the Buncrana Pier Tragedy have been ruled as death by misadventure.
A two-day inquest into the deaths made the ruling.
49-year-old Sean McGrotty, his two sons (12-year-old Mark and 8-year-old Evan), their grandmother Ruth Daniels, and her 14-year-old daughter Jodie Lee also died in the tragedy.
The coroner involved said that describing the tragedy as terrible and devastating for the family didn't even begin to describe it.
The inquest heard yesterday that driver Sean McGrotty was more than three times over the legal drink driving limit at the time of the incident.
Death by midadventure differs from accidental death in that some form of risk was introduced into the situation.
That may be that Mr McGrotty had been drinking, but could be a number of other factors.
That the car was on a slipway, the slope into the water, the presence of slippery algae and the fact that the slipway was open to the public and not gated off were other risks that may have been considered in the verdict.
The jury also recommended that Irish Water Safety takes a permanent role is advising all interested parties in safety around all piers and slipways nationally.
Dr Denis McCauley, Coroner for Donegal, expressed his condolences to the families involved following the verdict.
He praised the emergency services, who were at the scene within 4 minutes of getting a phonecall about the incident on the night in question.
He praised the jury for their verdict as well saying it was one of the largest recommendations he had seen to go and get water safety issues sorted.
Garda Inspector David Murphy also highlighted the bravery of Davitt Walsh who rescued baby Riodhnach-Ann from the sinking car.
He was described as an ordinary man who did something extraordinary.
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