Cork-born soldier killed by single training range shot

An Irishman serving with the British Army was shot and killed by a single machine gun bullet to the head at a non-combat zone within an army training range, an inquest heard.

Michael “Mike” Maguire, 21, originally from Co Cork, was hit in the temple by a shot probably fired by a fellow soldier attacking a static target one kilometre away.

The shooting happened at the Castlemartin Ranges in Pembrokeshire, west Wales, in May last year.

Army medics and civilian paramedics battled to save Mr Maguire’s life before he was urgently airlifted to hospital in Cardiff. But the soldier, of the 1st Battalion, The Royal Irish Regiment, was pronounced dead within 30 minutes of his arrival.

Mr Maguire, from Coomhola, Bantry, who was 6ft 7in, joined the 1st battalion on May 10, 2010, and was sent to Afghanistan four months later. He was known to his army friends as High Tower. A former U14 Cork county football championship medal winner, Michael was the youngest child of Michael Sr and Maureen Maguire, and is also survived by two brothers and a sister.

He went to school at St Goban’s College, Bantry.

Mr Maguire’s father read a statement to the inquest yesterday which concluded with the words: “I would like to add that I loved Mike dearly and miss him terribly.”

Army medic Corporal Michael Gleeson spoke of the frantic efforts made to keep Mr Maguire alive following the shooting. Mr Maguire had been standing in a designated administrative area, deemed to be secure, outside the training area with his armour and helmet off.

Cpl Gleeson arrived within two minutes checked Mr Maguire’s breathing, pulse and circulation and established that bleeding was under control. He said another medic used a manual pump to assist breathing and they rolled him over to resuscitate him. The efforts were continued when civilian paramedics arrived on the scene while awaiting the arrival of an air ambulance.

Earlier, the resumed inquest, which had sat for two days in November, was given a “refresher” course in the technicalities of the case. The jury listened to an explanation of the rules governing the firing of weapons at the range and the area where it would take place.

They heard that the range, flanked by the sea, covers wide sweeps of undulating territory which is dotted with grass-topped sand dunes.

The group of soldiers taking part in the exercise at the time of the shooting were taking part in low-level infantry training.

It was seen as an early stage in their build-up to a second tour of duty in Afghanistan, earmarked for this spring.

The jury heard that a “section” of eight soldiers were taking part in the exercise at the time of the shooting. They were divided into two equal sub-sections, referred to as Charlie and Delta, with one laying down suppression fire while the other moved toward a target.

Qualified supervisors oversaw two soldiers each at all times, meaning there were four supervisors for the eight men.

Each sub-section is usually equipped with rifles and one machine-gun, but on this occasion the section as a whole had just one machine gun.

After the shooting, gun casings ejected at various points during the exercise were collected as evidence.

One machine gun bullet was discovered buried in the ground close to the “safe-area” where Mr Maguire was shot, deemed to be the fatal bullet.

The shot would have been from about one kilometre away, which is within the effective range of the machine gun.

The inquest was adjourned until today.