INISHBOFIN DROWNING REPORT WARNS OF DANGERS OF ALCOHOL

Date Published: 05-Aug-2011

The Marine Casualty Investigation Board has found that a combination of tiredness, a swinging boat mooring and the effects of alcohol led to the drowning of two men off a Galway island last autumn.

The board has published the findings of its investigation into the deaths of 64 year old Castlebar-based boatowner Donal McEllin and 56 year old crewman Ger Feeney on the 10th of October last year.

It concluded that based on the evidence, the drownings most likely resulted from a combination of executing a night-time transfer from a small inflatable dingy to their boat which was swinging on a mooring, possible tiredness and diminished human performance resulting from alcohol consumed while socialising ashore on Inishbofin.