Radio controller tells inquest he made four 999 calls at fatal rally

Competitor 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

The event radio controller of the ill-fated 2022 Killarney Forest Rally has told an inquest into the death of competitor Eoin McCarthy that he made four 999 calls and had made contact with the Irish Coast Guard after the accident.

Anthony O'Connor told the 22 year-old's inquest at Cork courthouse that there was no phone or radio coverage at the accident location and that the rally's tracking system became a critical factor.

During the hearing, a lengthy deliberation on who was actually and ultimately responsible for deploying the emergency services led Mr O'Connor to become overwhelmed and coroner Philip Comyn suspended proceedings for some 15 minutes.

On resumption and with an intense scrutiny of timelines it emerged that it took five minutes from the time of the first of four SOSs to when the emergency services were deployed. 

Mr O'Connor said he could not remember if he had contacted the clerk of the course, Dermot Healy, in relation to sending in the services.

Mr O'Connor could not definitively say if certain Motorsport Ireland (MI) senior people were in the tracking room given that he himself had been in so many tracking rooms down through the years, it was difficult to be specific.

In relation to other senior MI personnel, he clarified that John Naylor (vice president) had no official role at the event but as far as he could remember, he was involved in set-up and taping. 

The inquest was told that Mr Naylor was on the MI serious incident advisory group.

The hearing recessed to allow Mr O'Connor to familiarise himself with the safety plan for the rally and, in particular, the duties of key personnel. 

On his return to the proceedings, counsel for the family asked if Mr O'Connor made a phone call when he had left the hearing and, when asked by the coroner, he confirmed that he did — to which the coroner reminded Mr O'Connor that he was not to make phone calls as he was still a witness.

Mr O'Connor said that he had not seen a copy of the MI investigation report prepared by Mr Naylor and could not recall if he was interviewed by Mr Naylor. 

He also revealed that due to moving house, he could not find a notebook that contained information he had kept on the day of the rally.

Mr O'Connor told the hearing that because of family circumstances — the death of his daughter some two years before the tragic rally accident —
he had chosen to forget much of what happened on the day of the rally.

He said it was his mechanism for dealing with the tragedy rather than seeking counselling. 

Mr O'Connor added that he was not being evasive and that he had set out as a volunteer to do the best he could.

Stage commander Declan O'Leary gave evidence that he got a call from another competitor who had managed to get phone coverage, telling him about the accident. 

He then made contact with Anthony O'Connor, who rang the emergency services.

The second day of the inquest Cork Courthouse yesterday learned during Mr O'Leary's evidence that he had seen a video recording, taken by a senior official of Motorsport Ireland, of CPR being administered to the late Eoin McCarthy at the scene.

The hearing will resume on Thursday and is expected to run until Friday.