Man, 59, suffered fatal heart attack while climbing Croagh Patrick
Other pilgrims on the mountain came to his assistance.
A 59-year-old father-of-three became unwell while descending Croagh Patrick last June before collapsing into the arms of a fellow pilgrim who stopped to assist him, an inquest has been told.
The inquiry into the sudden death of Michael Joseph (Joe) Owens, Ballyfruit, Headford, Co Galway on June 2 last was conducted at Ballina Courthouse by Mayo coroner Dr Eleanor Fitzgerald.
In a statement to gardaí which was read to the hearing, Cathal Divilly, who was ascending the mountain with his son, gave a detailed account of Mr Owen’s last moments on what he described as “the plateau section”, half way up.
“We saw a man sitting on a rock about twenty metres away from us," the witness outlined.
“As we approached he got up and started coming towards us. He started wobbling and was very unsteady on his feet. “He looked at me and he was about to faint so I called out to him to stop. He said ‘I am just feeling dizzy’.
“He fell forward. I manage to catch him and put him lying on the ground.
“He went blue. I believed he was going into cardiac arrest. I talked to him, urging him to stay with me but he wasn’t responsive”.
Despite receiving CPR, Mr Owens passed away on the mountain and was carried to the base by members of Mayo Mountain Rescue before being transferred to the morgue of Mayo University Hospital.
A post mortem examination was subsequently carried out and a pathology report indicated 50 per cent stenosis (blockage) in a coronary artery.
Consultant pathologist Dr Fadel Bennani confirmed to the inquest that, in layman's terms, Mr Owens had suffered a heart attack.
Clare Owens, widow of the deceased, described her husband as a fit person who often climbed Croagh Patrick and had scaled Kilimanjaro in Africa. To her knowledge, her husband never had chest pain or suffered from vertigo.
Dr Fitzgerald noted that stenosis in a coronary artery can trigger arrhythmia (abnormality in the heart’s rhythm).
“It happens without warning. It can occur suddenly and unexpectedly”.
The coroner praised the response of fellow pilgrims and emergency responders to Mr Owens’ plight, stating that it was a source of great comfort that he was so well attended to.
- Published as part of the Courts Reporting Scheme.
