Defence Forces soldier killed in Spanish skydiving incident was caught up in lines as parachutes failed to open correctly

A member of the Defence Forces who died in a skydiving accident in Spain has been named as Acting Sgt Maj Declan “Doc” O’Connell.

The 54-year-old, an experienced skydiver, was not on active military duty when the incident occurred near Seville on Sunday. He was undertaking a civilian parachute instructors’ course with the Skydive Spain parachute club at the time.

The club said in a statement that Acting Sgt Maj O’Connell died after getting caught up in one of his lines, resulting in the parachute not opening correctly, and that the club was assisting Spanish police with their investigation.

“The skydiver was observed to activate his reserve parachute which would be the normal procedure with a malfunctioning main parachute. Emergency procedures involve the detachment of a malfunctioning main parachute immediately before the reserve parachute is deployed,” it said in a statement.

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“However, due to the skydiver being caught up in lines and seemingly unable to free himself, the main and reserve parachutes became entangled with the result of both parachutes failing to open correctly.”

The club added: “Skydive Spain’s staff and community are saddened by this incident and our deepest condolences go to the deceased’s family and friends.”

Acting Sgt Maj O’Connell took up skydiving in 2004 and in 2016 was part of the first Irish group to make the podium at the World Indoor Sky Dive Championship, winning gold.

He was a member of the Defence Forces for 33 years and completed a number of international military courses, including with the UK Armed Forces and the Nato School in Oberammergau, Germany.

He was a physical training instructor, confidence training instructor, driving instructor, APC instructor and live-fire tactical trainer, and taught officer cadets in the Cadet School for more than 20 years. He served overseas on nine occasions with the Defence Forces in Lebanon, Kosovo, Mali and Bosnia & Herzegovina.

Defence Forces Chief of Staff Lt Gen Seán Clancy described Acting Sgt Maj O’Connell as an “outstanding soldier and leader who was highly respected by all who had the pleasure to serve with him”.

“He will be sorely missed by his Defence Forces family, and my thoughts and condolences go out to his family at this extremely difficult time,” he said.

Deputy Chief of Staff (Support) of the Defence Forces and president of Defence Forces Parachuting, Maj Gen Adrian Ó Murchú, described Acting Sgt Maj O’Connell as an “exemplar for all that is good about the Defence Forces”.

“He was a champion for all the Defence Forces values, especially moral and physical courage, selflessness and integrity,” he said. “Above all, ‘Doc’ was a great soldier, teammate and friend to all who knew him, and a born leader who inspired the many cadets that he trained over the years.”

Permanent Defence Force Other Ranks Representative Association (Pdforra) president Mark Kane said the Defence Forces community was in mourning, especially after the recent loss of Pte Seán Rooney in Lebanon. He said Acting Sgt Maj O’Connell was a “stalwart” of Pdforra who “always went above and beyond that role, under the radar”.

The Reserve Defence Forces Representative Association offered its condolences to the family of Acting Sgt Maj O’Connell, who was due to be married to his long-term partner Audrey in April.

Acting Sgt Maj O’Connell was a member of Newbridge’s Sarsfields GAA Club, which said in a statement on its website that he had made a “valued” contribution over many years as a player and coach.

“He was an all-around gentleman, gifted musician, and he will be fondly remembered by all who knew him in Sarsfields,” it said. “The club offers our sincere sympathies to his partner Audrey, daughter Niamh, his parents Mary and Iggy, his sister Denise and all his extended family, his colleagues in the Army, and anyone who was privileged to call him a friend.”