Gardaí investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a woman who drowned in the river Lee in Cork have appealed to anyone who may have seen the woman near a city centre quay to contact them.
The woman was named as Marion O'Leary (54), from St Anthony's Road in Gurranabraher on Cork's northside. It is understood that Ms O'Leary had been living in hostels and other accommodation around the city for several years.
A postmortem examination by Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster confirmed that Ms O'Leary died from drowning and while she didn't have any injuries suggesting an assault, gardaí are trying to establish how she ended up in the Lee.
Gardaí believe that Ms O'Leary may have been drinking with at least one other person in the Albert Quay/Kennedy Quay area on Wednesday night and are investigating whether she may have been involved in a row, was pushed and fell into the river.
Albert Quay and Kennedy Quay are well-known haunts for people who engage in street drinking in Cork. Both quays open on to the south channel of the river Lee with no barrier between the quay edge and the river.
Gardaí received information yesterday morning that Ms O'Leary may have entered the water and mounted a search operation. Her body was recovered by a team of Naval Service divers at around 10am near the Marina, over a mile downstream from Albert Quay.
Gardaí believe that Ms O'Leary was in the vicinity of the Albert Quay/De Valera Bridge/ Kennedy Quay area from around 5pm on Wednesday and may have gone into the water sometime between midnight on Wednesday and 5am yesterday.
Detectives have already spoken to a number of homeless people in a nearby shelter but are anxious that anyone who may have passed by the area between 5pm on Wednesday and 5am yesterday and noticed people drinking should contact them on 021-4522000.
A Garda Press office spokesman said that gardaí are investigating the circumstances of how Ms O'Leary entered the water with a view to preparing a file for the Director of Public Prosecutions but stressed that the inquiry was not a murder investigation.
Seven years ago on September 23rd, 2000, a homeless man, Michael Kelly (43), originally from Wexford, died from drowning when he was pushed into the river Lee at virtually the same spot at Albert Quay.
An Englishman in Ireland on a stag weekend, Peter Nugent, admitted confronting Mr Kelly about the theft of his wallet and pushing the homeless man, who fell into the river. Mr Nugent was given a 12-year suspended sentence for the manslaughter of Mr Kelly.
