An 82-year-old man died when he was unable to get up after falling outside his home in a remote part of Co Clare on a winter’s night, an inquest has heard.
Clare Coroner’s Court heard Bernard Kennedy’s wife, Annette (78), who had Covid-19 at the time, collapsed and fell unconscious while trying to call someone to come to help him on the evening of November 5th, 2023.
Coroner Isobel O’Dea returned a verdict supporting the medical evidence that Mr Kennedy died of hypothermia after falling outside the house at Drumellihy, Cree. Ms O’Dea said cardiac and bronchitis issues highlighted by the postmortem indicated that Mr Kennedy’s health was otherwise compromised.
His body was not discovered until almost noon the following day by a neighbour, who alerted gardaí.
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The couple had been married for 59 years, spending the last 20 at the house in Cree, but their health had deteriorated more recently.
In a deposition, Mrs Kennedy said she was in bed sick with Covid-19 at the time. She said a friend phoned seeking her husband, who had worked as a painter with Limerick Corporation for many years, and she went outside looking for him. She said Mr Kennedy fell as he walked towards her.
“I walked over to Bernard and tried to lift him up. I said a prayer to St Mary but I couldn’t lift him up. I tried two times to lift him but I couldn’t,” she said.
She said she phoned for help but there was no answer. Missed calls were found on her phone the next morning from one of the people she had tried to contact.
“I then went into the house. I was really sick and I collapsed. That is all I remember until the next morning when I was informed that Bernard had died.”
John Considine, a neighbour, said that at about 11.55am the next day he noticed something on the ground outside the couple’s home, which turned out to be Mr Kennedy. He said he found Annette on the floor of a bedroom. She “seemed dazed and confused” when he spoke to her.
The inquest heard Mr Kennedy had fallen several times in that period, including once a few days previous.
The coroner told Mrs Kennedy, who was present, that what happened “must have been a huge shock to everyone involved”.
“Absolutely,” she replied.
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