Cork inquest hears woman died from stab wounds after fatal Ballinlough attack

Court hears details of fatal Ballinlough attack as inquest is adjourned amid ongoing criminal proceedings

Stella Gallagher was fatally injured in an incident in Shrewsbury Downs, Ballinlough, Cork, on November 17. Photo: Instagram

An inquest into the death of a 59-year-old woman who was attacked close to her home in Cork city last November has heard that she died from stab wounds to the thorax.

Stella Gallagher was fatally injured in an incident in Shrewsbury Downs, Ballinlough, Cork, on November 17, 2025. She was pronounced dead at Cork University Hospital.

Her husband, Brian, was also seriously injured in the incident. The 63-year-old was taken to Cork University Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery.

Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster told Cork Coroner’s Court that the cause of death was haemorrhage and shock due to stab wounds to the thorax.

Sgt Fergus Twomey applied for and was granted an adjournment. He told Coroner Philip Comyn that a person has appeared before the courts in connection with the death. The inquest was indefinitely adjourned to allow criminal proceedings to take place. 

Stella Gallagher was a native of Ballinspittle, Co Cork. She was a retired chemical engineer who worked for many years at Eli Lilly in Kinsale, Co Cork.

She was laid to rest on November 25, 2025, at St Michael’s Cemetery in Blackrock, Cork, following Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Ballinlough.

Mourners were told that Stella had an “innate generosity” and brightened the lives of others.

Her brother-in-law, Alan Gallagher, also said that she derived great pleasure from her involvement with the Togher Community Garden and the Cork Health Education Project Choir, with whom she sang.

Meanwhile, David Gallagher, of Shrewsbury Downs, Ballinlough, Cork,has been charged with the murder of his mother and with assault causing harm to his father close to the family home on November 17 last. 

The 25-year-old first appeared in court charged with the offences on November 20, 2025.