Boiler conversion left it spew lethal gas, court told

A plumber incorrectly converted a gas boiler leaving it spewing out lethal quantities of carbon monoxide causing the death of a woman staying at the Trident hotel in Kinsale in January 2011, it was claimed by the prosecution at the opening of a trial yesterday.

Richard Davis, aged 44, from Serenity, Killanully, Ballygarvan, Co Cork, pleaded not guilty to manslaughter of Miriam Reidy and two breaches of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005.

Davis’s company, Davis Heating and Plumbing Contractors, of Marina Commercial Park in Cork, is charged with two similar breaches of the safety act relating to the conversion of a gas boiler at the Trident on January 4, 2011, to which not guilty pleas were also entered at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.