Rally in which West Cork driver died should not have taken place due to bad weather conditions, inquest hears

Eoin McCarthy died after his car slid into a stream during heavy rain in the Killarney Forest Rally in February 2022

Eoin McCarthy and his co-driver Daniel O’Brien on the Killarney Forest Rally in 2022. Picture: Martin Walsh.

Race marshals were concerned about conditions before a race in which a 22-year-old West Cork rally driver died, with one marshal casting doubt as to whether it should take place, an inquest has heard.

Dunmanway's Eoin McCarthy died following an accident on the Castleisland-based Killarney Forest Rally in February 2022.

During the first day of the four-day hearing at the courthouse in Cork, it emerged it took some five months before a statement was taken from Mr McCarthy's co-driver Daniel O'Brien. 

Another witness, marshal Mark Dolphin, thought the rally should not have taken place given the adverse weather conditions. Yet another marshal, John Coughlan, said conditions deteriorated as the day progressed and he had concerns about the accident location from the beginning.

Before proceedings got under way, legal counsel, Derek Ryan BL, for the McCarthy family, requested that several witnesses present in the courtroom be excluded from the hearing before giving evidence. The request was granted by coroner Philip Comyn.

Mr McCarthy, who also played rugby and GAA, was competing in the event in a Honda Civic and was co-driven by Dripsey's Daniel O'Brien when their car went off the track at an unrailed bridge on the fourth  — Mount Eagle — stage of the rally.

In his submission, Garda Sergeant Tomás Barry detailed the accident scene on the Mount Eagle stage through a series of maps and photographs. Later, a short video clip of the accident showed the Honda Civic approaching a bridge that had a bale placed at either end, before it spun backwards into the stream.

Co-driver's statement

A statement from Eoin McCarthy's co-driver Daniel O'Brien was read by Inspector Fergus Twomey, detailing aspects of their preparation. On their way to the Mount Eagle stage, it rained heavily, and they started the stage just before 2pm.

About two miles into the stage on a downhill section, they approached the bridge and Mr O'Brien called a double caution on his pace notes. One of the bales seemed to be out more than it was on the previous occasion and the surface was more slippy than earlier.

The rear of the Honda Civic, which at the time Mr O'Brien reckoned was travelling about 15km/h, began to slide before it slid off the bridge backwards, rolling over slowly before ending up on its roof. Water quickly filled the car that was suspended and submerged in the water. 

Mr O'Brien tried in vain to free Eoin McCarthy but could not do so as he seemed trapped.

Mr O'Brien eventually made his way out of the car, but Eoin McCarthy was still submerged in the water, stated to be between 0.5 to 0.75m deep, and apart from a rattling cough, was unresponsive with his helmet on.

Mr O'Brien was attended to by medical personnel before being taken from the scene by an ambulance that later slid and became stuck along the route. 

A replacement ambulance could not pass the stricken ambulance, and Mr O'Brien was subsequently taken by a jeep to a Red Cross ambulance at the service park and then taken to Tralee General Hospital. 

Later that evening, he was collected from the hospital by his father and girlfriend before learning Eoin McCarthy had died. Mr O'Brien gave a detailed explanation of the tracking system in their Honda Civic and how it worked in an emergency situation.

On a video link, state pathologist Margaret Bolster revealed the official cause of Eoin McCarthy's death was hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy. She explained that as Mr McCarthy was suspended upside down and submerged in water, it caused cardiac arrest, resulting in a chronic shortage of oxygen to the brain.

A marshal at the junction next to where the accident occurred, Mark Dolphin, told the court he was of the opinion the rally should not have taken place. He said trees at his location were falling behind him and while he reported this to an official, he was informed that the trees were not blocking the stage.

Another witness, Derek Cummins, a senior Motorsport Ireland official, who was at the rally in an unofficial capacity, witnessed the accident taking place and went to assist at the scene. He told the court he did not see any of the officials stopping at the location as they traversed the route prior to the start of the stage.

The day's final witness, Eoghan McCarthy, a rally co-driver who was the fourth car on the scene, revealed he was not requested to give any statements about the accident to either the gardaí or Motorsport Ireland. 

The inquest continues until Friday.