Cork councillors seek River Lee safety report after drowning tragedy at Pope’s Quay

Cork City Council will review safety on the River Lee after a man drowned while onlookers filmed instead of intervening

Luke Hyde, 34, from Wolfe Tone Street on the northside of Cork city, drowned last Wednesday evening after he got into difficulty while swimming in the north channel. Picture: RIP.ie.

Cork’s city councillors have requested a River Lee safety and access report following the tragic drowning of a young man in the city centre last week.

Luke Hyde, 34, from Wolfe Tone Street on the northside of Cork city, drowned last Wednesday evening after he got into difficulty while swimming in the north channel of the River Lee at Pope’s Quay. 

A second man who was in the water at the time managed to get out safely and raise the alarm.

There was outrage when it emerged that dozens of onlookers filmed Mr Hyde’s drowning, rather than helping.

Mr Hyde’s family contacted Sinn Féin Cllr Michelle Gould in recent days and asked her to raise the tragedy in City Hall.

At the May meeting of the council on Monday, Ms Gould tried to seek a suspension of standing orders to discuss a range of issues arising out of the tragedy, including a request that:

• Signs be erected urgently at entry points to the River Lee warning of the dangers of swimming;
• The council undertake a safety risk assessment of all entry points to the River Lee within the city centre, to ensure that any necessary precautions to prevent accidents are in place;
• The council develop an awareness campaign to highlight the potential dangers of, and safety precautions needed for, swimming in the River Lee.

But Lord Mayor Cllr Dan Boyle said he had been advised that agreeing to a suspension of standing orders and allowing a debate on the circumstances surrounding an incident that is now the subject of an investigation could compromise the ongoing investigation.

Ms Gould said she was conscious that a coronial inquest in relation to last week’s tragic death, and whatever recommendations might arise from that, could take several months, and she asked for safety signs to be erected in the short term.

But Mr Boyle insisted again that it could be dangerous to proceed with a debate on the issue, given that investigations are underway.

Fine Gael Cllr Des Cahill said it might be prudent and helpful if city officials prepared a report for them on what safety measures are in place along the quays, including information on the locations of lifebuoys, and what areas have been secured, before any debate takes place.

Ms Gould agreed to wait for that report, which should be ready for the council’s June meeting.

The circumstances of Mr Hyde’s death sparked anger and outrage last week when it emerged that instead of helping, many of the people who lined the quaysides as he struggled in the water filmed the tragic events as they unfolded, with some livestreaming the incident.

There was no evidence that anyone on the quays threw him one of the four lifebuoys available on that stretch of the river.

And such was the onlooker intrusion on the emergency response that gardaí had to step in and push the cordon back.

Emergency services recovered Mr Hyde’s body downstream a short time later. Some people even recorded the recovery of his body.

His family is now backing efforts to introduce ‘Luke’s Law’, which would make the recording or sharing online of such tragic incidents a criminal offence.