Coroner calls for popcorn banat creches after toddler’s death

An 18-month-old girl died when she choked to death on a popcorn kernel she found at her creche, an inquest heard yesterday.

Lauren Meehan-O’Byrne from Shanabooly Road, Ballynanty, Limerick, died at Temple Street Children’s Hospital on Mar 19 last year, having never recovered from the choking incident at her creche five days previously.

Dublin Coroner Dr Brian Farrell called on the HSE to ban popcorn from preschool facilities in the wake of the incident.

Lauren’s mother, Emer Meehan, told the court she had dropped her daughter at the Sunshine Childcare Centre in the St Munchin’s Family Resource Centre in Ballynanty on the morning of Mar 14, kissed her goodbye and left. At about 10.40am she received a frantic call from Lauren’s father, David O’Byrne, telling her to come to the centre immediately.

Lauren and several other infants had been making their way from the toddler room to the dining room at the creche for playtime when childcare assistant Sabrina Bennis noticed that Lauren was coughing.

She patted her on the back but the cough became worse and then Lauren suddenly inhaled as though she could not breathe.

Co-worker Carol Blake attempted the Heimlich manoeuvre but this did not work. She looked into Lauren’s mouth but could not see what she was choking on. She and another co-worker, Louise Grey, began CPR while awaiting paramedics. Lauren vomited several times but was still not breathing. Both parents were on the scene within minutes and watched creche staff and paramedics struggle to revive Lauren.

Paramedic Mark O’Sullivan told the court that when he arrived Lauren was unresponsive and had no pulse. Several attempts were made to clear her airway before he decided to intubate. This was successful and Lauren was transferred to the Mid- Western Regional Hospital in Limerick.

An operation was carried out to remove a popcorn kernel lodged so far down Lauren’s trachea it was not visible to the naked eye.

Lauren was transferred to Temple Street but had suffered extensive brain damage having been deprived of oxygen during the incident, and never recovered. She died five days later when life support was withdrawn.

The court heard that some older children at the centre had watched a DVD in the toddlers’ room on the Friday before the incident and they had been given popcorn. The room had been cleaned.

Garda Bernie Leech said that there were no suspicious circumstances and it was a very tragic accident.

Dr Farrell returned a verdict of accidental death.