Bar manager’s death ‘unascertained’, coroner finds

A VERDICT of “unascertained death” has been recorded after a bar manager was found dead following after a golf outing.

A coroner also urged blood relatives of Colin Bradley to undergo medical screening for possible heart abnormalities. The 37-year-old Cork city man died in a Killarney hotel, a day after he had won first prize in a golf competition in Killarney, Co Kerry.

Coroner Terence Casey told the jury at an inquest in Kenmare the only verdict they could reach in the case of Colin Bradley, of Fernwood Crescent, Lehenaghmore, Cork, was one of “unascertained death”.

Mr Casey also advised the blood relatives of the late Mr Bradley to undergo medical screening for possible heart abnormalities.

On October 18 last, he took part in a golf outing with the Rochestown Inn Golf Society and played the Killeen course in Killarney.

“He was delighted as it was also his birthday,” said Richard Murphy, who shared a hotel room in

Killarney with Mr Bradley.

The society went for a meal and socialised at various locations in Killarney that evening. The next morning, Mr Bradley told his room mate he had been ill during the night. He was sitting up in bed chatting and Mr Murphy went into the bathroom.

When he emerged, Mr Murphy found Mr Bradley on the floor of the bedroom in a distressed state. Resuscitation, including the use of a defibrillator by the hotel, was attempted and a doctor attended the scene, but to no avail. Mr Bradley, a bar manager, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The deceased, who had been married for two years, had an allergy to peanuts, the inquest heard. However, the postmortem examination showed no evidence he had consumed peanuts on the night. There had been no abnormality of the organs and the dead man had very low levels of

alcohol in his blood.

According to the pathologist Dr Kenneth Feeley, who carried out the postmortem, it was possible the deceased had a cardiac disorder, but this was not certain.

The pathologist said the commonly used term, Sudden Adult Death Syndrome, was a “term of exclusion” and really meant the cause was unascertained.

The coroner remarked: “We have to find in agreement with Dr Feeley. His death is unexplained.”

It was a tragic loss for a young man celebrating his birthday and winning a golf trophy only the day before, the coroner added.

Mr Casey, Garda Supt Michael Maher and the jury extended sympathy to the relatives of the dead man.