BY DAVID FORSYTHE
THE inquest into the death of a Glengarriff woman who went missing in October 2023 has found that she died from hypothermia after falling into a ravine near her home.
A major search operation was launched involving coastguard units, gardaí, divers, drones, and a helicopter when Maureen O’Connor was reported missing from her home at Skehill near Glengarriff at the end of October 2023.
Garda John O’Shea told the inquest that Maureen lived in a remote location about a kilometre from the nearest road across walls, a stream, and through vegetation.
Her home was effectively a ‘self-built shack’ with no electricity or running water.
Neighbour Khloe Wood said that on October 29th, 2023 she was walking her dogs with her mother and a friend near Maureen’s house when they all commented that Maureen hadn’t been seen in the area for some time.
Two other neighbours met them and said the same thing and it was decided to check on her but Maureen could not be found.
They contacted gardaí.
A major search of the area over three days could not find Maureen.
Coastguard volunteer Mandana Ruane said that on November 1st she was searching a rocky, boggy area about 170m to the rear of Maureen’s home she came across a jacket and jersey that were neatly folded.
In a nearby ravine, about six feet deep, she saw a wellington boot and upon further investigation she discovered Maureen’s body at 11.50am beneath a dense layer of gorse in the gully.
Ms Ruane said that it took four hours to remove the body from the gully.
In a statement, neighbour Alan Callendar said that Maureen had symptoms of Alzheimer’s and had lost the keys to her car sometime before she went missing.
He said that she had got into the habit of walking the three miles to Glengarriff to get supplies and food for her cats.
He said that he had given her lift back from Glengarriff on October 24th which was the last time he had seen her.
Assistant State pathologist Margot Bolster said that she carried out an autopsy on Maureen O’Connor’s body on November 3rd, 2023.
She said that she had suffered multiple bruises and scratches that were consistent with trying to climb out of a gully.
She said there was no evidence of head trauma but there was evidence of Alzheimer’s disease.
She said that there was discolouration of the knee joints which was symptom of hypothermia.
She added that the evidence of the folded clothes was a classic sign of hypothermia known as ‘paradoxical undressing’ where a person suffering from severe cold undresses in the belief they are too warm.
She said it was her opinion that the cause of death was hypothermia.
Coroner Frank O’Connell said that Maureen was effectively living an ‘off-grid’ existence.
He said the evidence suggested she fell into the gully and was unable to get out and died of hypothermia as a result.
He offered his condolences to the family and recorded a verdict of accidental death.
