Poor weather in fatal Kerry forestry rally did not justify cancellation, inquest hears

Weather conditions that included heavy wind and rain did not in any way justify the cancellation of a rally in which a man was killed after his car veered off track and flipped over into a flooded stream, an inquest has heard.Eoin McCarthy (22) of Dunmanway, Co Cork, died after the car he was driving slid into the water at the Killarney Forestry Rally in Co Kerry on February 20th, 2022.John Naylor, vice-president of Motorsport Ireland, said in evidence he had no concerns about the weather on the day of the crash. Witnesses had previously said the forest rally occurred amid heavy wind and a downpour of rain. Naylor said a forest rally was a “challenge between the driver and the machine and the elements” and that rain was a normal feature of such an event. He said conditions on the day did not in any way justify cancellation of the rally.READ MOREHe said tracking was in its infancy five years ago but had “gone to a whole different level” in the past 12 months.Barrister for the McCarthy family, Derek Ryan, asked Naylor if he remembered moving a silage bale at the scene of the crash which had presumably been hit earlier that day. He replied that he could not.Naylor was also asked if he had interviewed people at the scene on the day of the crash or in the weeks and months afterwards. He said he had not carried out interviews but had gathered statements made to other parties such as the gardaí.Ryan put it to Naylor that he had written a document titled “investigation” on behalf of Motorsport Ireland following the crash. Naylor accepted the word ‘investigation’ implied something different from what the document involved.McCarthy was driving in only his second rally, alongside navigator Daniel O’Brien, when their car veered off a bridge and ended up upside down on its roof in a stream. His car was submerged for five to six minutes.[ Farmer drowns in river while filling barrels of water for his animalsOpens in new window ]Dr Fiona Kelly, chief medical officer on duty at the rally, told the Coroner’s Court in Cork that cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was carried out on McCarthy at the riverbank after he was taken from the car.She said that in spite of use of a defibrillator and extensive CPR at the scene, his condition was “incompatible with life”. She said he had been submerged in water without oxygen for five to six minutes. He was medically evacuated to Cork University Hospital and died onsite.The inquest heard the expectation was that McCarthy would be transferred to hospital by helicopter from a nearby GAA pitch. He was taken by ambulance to the pitch, but the helicopter subsequently landed at a different location.Kelly said the second location was “difficult” to get to in the ambulance. However, she said the timing of the transfer and any delays in relation to it would have had no impact on the eventual outcome.She offered her sympathy to the McCarthy family following their loss and told them Eoin would have not suffered in any way. “He wouldn’t have been aware of anything that was happening,” she said. “There was no pain.”Evidence was also given by advanced paramedic Padraig McGlynn who tended to McCarthy at the scene. He said the young man was “successfully shocked” following the crash.McGlynn said McCarthy was breathing on his own again when he was being transferred to the helicopter for medical evacuation. McCarthy was a “fit young man” whom he felt had been given the best chance of survival following the work of the medical team at the scene, he said. The inquest is expected to conclude on Friday.