Anthony ‘was our pride and joy’

A distraught mother wept yesterday as she recalled the horrifying moment she found her baby boy lying face down in the bath.

Maryann Daly’s 11-month-old son Anthony drowned in the bath at the family home in Birchwood Close, Onslow Gardens, Cork, after she left him and his older sister alone in the water to get towels.

She told Cork City Coroner’s Court she would normally lay towels on a bed as part of the regular bath-time routine for James, Bridget, Britney, and Anthony.

However, on Oct 3 last, the towels were downstairs when she began bathing Britney, 2, and Anthony, at about 7.30pm.

“Anthony was sitting up and smiling in the bath, playing with his ducks,” she said.

As he began to get tired and cranky, Ms Daly left the children in the water and went downstairs to get a towel.

She turned the kettle on to make Anthony’s bottles and said she was gone for about two minutes.

As she headed back upstairs, she heard Britney saying: “Wake up Anthony.”

When she got into the bathroom, she found the infant lying face down in the water, unconscious.

She picked him up, pulled the plug out and ran downstairs where she handed him to his father, Fred Williams.

“I placed him on a mat, on his side on the kitchen table. I thought I could feel a small breath so I started CPR,” said Mr Williams.

“Panic was starting to set in so I ran out to the van to drive him to hospital myself, but I normally leave my keys in the van and they weren’t there this time.”

He continued CPR on the floor of the frontroom and waited for an ambulance.

Paramedics arrived at 8.35pm and rushed Anthony to the Mercy University Hospital but, despite extensive medical efforts, he died.

Dr Margot Bolster said death was due to drowning. “It would have been very quick, as if the baby just went to sleep.”

The jury returned a verdict of accidental death.

City coroner Dr Myra Cullinane expressed her deepest sympathies to the parents.

“This is such a very, very tragic inquest.

“The death of a child affects us deeply. And we can only imagine the stress and agony you are experiencing.

“I hope that by the conclusion of today’s proceedings, you can move on to the next phase of your grieving.”

She wished the couple well for the future as Ms Daly was expecting her fifth child in July.

Mr Williams said they were still devastated by the accident.

“Anthony was happy, jolly, always smiling and laughing. It’s still very painful, but he was our pride and joy.”

He also thanked the gardaí at Gurranabraher and the emergency services who helped on the night.

The couple were supported by several relatives at the inquest.

“They are fantastic parents and this was totally accidental and we love them and we’ll always be there for them,” a family member said afterwards.