Two probes under way into boy’s electrocution

TWO separate investigations are under way into the death of a schoolboy who was electrocuted while playing on open ground near his home.

Eleven-year-old Evan Kenny-Mulligan died instantly after touching a live wire in a light fitting on one of a series of outdoor lamps lining a pathway in the landscaped green area shared by local residents.

Gardaí and the Health and Safety Authority are both conducting investigations, which will attempt to find out how the wire came to be exposed on the lights, which stand about three feet high, and who was responsible for maintaining them and ensuring they were safe.

The tragedy happened shortly before 8pm on Sunday in the Newcastle Manor estate on the edge of Newcastle village in west Co Dublin. The estate was built over the past three to four years by Chesterbridge Homes and a spokesperson for South Dublin County Council confirmed it had not yet been taken in charge by the local authority.

A statement issued on behalf of Chesterbridge Homes yesterday expressed sympathy with Evan’s family and said the company was co-operating fully with the investigations into the boy’s death. Chesterbridge is still working on other phases of the Newcastle Manor development but the statement stressed the accident happened in an area “which is completed and fully accessible to the public”.

The statement concluded: “The management and staff of Chesterbridge Homes are deeply saddened by this accident and our foremost thoughts are with the family of the deceased child to whom we express our sincere condolences.”

Frantic efforts were made to revive Evan after the horrified screams of his friends alerted relatives living close by but although an ambulance crew was quickly on the scene, attempts to resuscitate him failed and he was pronounced dead at Tallaght Hospital at 9.30pm.

A Garda spokesperson said the incident appeared to be a tragic accident but, as with all sudden deaths, it would be formally investigated.

The Health and Safety Authority assigned an inspector to the case on Sunday night.

The ESB was also called to the scene to disconnect the power supply to the lights. A spokesperson said while the power was drawn from public lines, the low-level lights were not the standard street lamps provided by the company and it was not yet clear who had installed them. He added that the supply would not be reconnected until its electricians were satisfied all necessary repairs and safety checks had been completed.

Evan’s distraught parents were being comforted by extended family members who spoke of a gentle, kind and fun-loving boy who adored cooking and liked to copy his favourite TV chefs. The news of his death also had to be broken to his classmates at St Joseph’s Boys School in neighbouring Clondalkin, where Evan had just gone into fifth class.

Funeral arrangements were being finalised last night.