GARDAI in Galway have rejected criticism over the handling of an incident on Thursday night during which a local man fell to his death from a 100 foot crane.
Mr Francis Miller (31), of St James's Crescent, Mervue, Galway, evaded security staff at a large building site on the docks before climbing to the top of the crane at about 6 p.m. He was carrying a bottle in a brown paper bag and a hammer, and smashed windows in the crane on his way up.
Gardai as well as fire and civil defence services were called to the scene, but efforts by gardai and a probation officer to persuade the man to come down were unsuccessful.
Over the following four hours Mr Miller threw shards of glass and metal parts from the crane, sang songs and shouted obscenities. After about two and a half hours, gardai cleared a crowd which had gathered in the area.
The man appeared to become more intoxicated as the evening wore on. At about 10 pm. he stumbled and fell, but managed to catch hold of the edge of the crane and tried to crawl back up.
After about a minute he lost his grip and plunged to his death.
Callers to local radio in Galway yesterday criticised the delay in clearing the area of onlookers and said a safety net should have been brought to the scene. Other callers said a searchlight should have been trained on the crane, as the growing darkness may have contributed to the fatal slip.
Subt Tony Finnerty, the garda in charge of the rescue attempt rejected the criticisms and said "every effort" was made to rescue Mr Miller. A searchlight could have added to the danger, as it might have dazzled him, he said.
A probation officer who knew him was called to the scene, as was a family member, and there were several attempts to talk him down.
An incident room was being established and efforts were being made to get a walkie talkie to Mr Miller when he fell, according to Supt Finnerty.
A Garda investigation into the circumstances of the incident started yesterday, focusing on security measures at the site and on the crane. A post mortem examination was due to be carried out on the body.
Local gardai said opening a safety net under the crane was not a viable option, because of a large number of protruding iron g in the area. Mr Miller moved about on the top of the crane, adding to the difficulty.
The fire officer at the scene, Mr Noel McGuire, said firemen were unable to reach Mr Miller with an extended ladder, because building work blocked access to the crane. Firemen were prepared to climb up the crane, but were advised not to do so by Supt Finnerty, he said.
"We would have gone up, but it was his decision, in the interests of safety, not to let either the fire brigade or his own men up to talk to him," he said.
"If you could have got the platform up, fine. You could have talked to him off the platform. But that wasn't possible.
"Someone would have had to climb up, and that was unsafe at that stage," Mr McGuire said.
Security at the building site included a 12 foot high wire screen and a night watchman. The engineer in charge of the site, Mr Michael Mooney, said he was satisfied the security there was adequate.
"You can't really secure against somebody who is determined to do something like that," he said.
According Mr Mooney, the crane was considerably damaged during the incident. "He was a very angry man," he said.
The Mayor of Galway, Cllr John Mulholland, extended his sympathy to Mr Miller's family. He thanked gardai and firemen for their efforts and said little could have been done to prevent the death.
"Unfortunately, accidents of this kind cannot be foreseen," he said.