The family of a mother-of-three who drowned after falling off the pier in Carlingford has told an inquest into her death that the local council has a moral responsibility to erect a safety rail to prevent a similar tragedy.
Ruth Maguire, from Newcastle in Co Down, was on a hen night in the Co Louth village, when she died last March.
She had been due to marry her fiancé and father of their three children in August, but was instead buried in her wedding dress.
It is believed that shortly after leaving a bar in the village, Ms Maguire fell off the pier minutes after taking a photograph just after midnight on St Patrick's Day and posting it on her Instagram account.
"I know it all comes to money, but at the end of the day you can't put a price on a life"
Coroner Ronan Maguire said she died from drowning.
At the inquest into her death in Dundalk this morning, Ms Maguire's mother said Louth County Council had a responsibility to make the harbour in the village a safer place.
Geraldine Worthington told the coroner’s court that the village makes money by attracting people from all over Ireland to attend hen, stag and birthday parties.
Describing the pier as a dangerous place, she said there was an obligation to make it safer.
She said a handrail could help prevent others from falling in.
"Carlingford is a beautiful place, I love going there," Ms Worthington said.
"But it is a place that makes a lot of money by attracting people from all over Ireland to attend hen, stag and birthday parties.
"There are a lot of young people who often drink more than they should and there are no mummies, daddies or partners there to look after them.
"The pier is a dangerous place, it is an uneven surface and it is very easy to trip and fall.
"Even when we go to lay flowers at the place where Ruth fell in, family members have tripped and almost fallen in themselves."
Ms Worthington said her family wanted Louth County Council to install a handrail along the pier, and that it should also consider installing lights.
"I know it all comes to money, but at the end of the day you can't put a price on a life," she told RTÉ News.
"Carlingford and the local council make a lot of money from people who go there, so I think they have a moral obligation to make the village as safe as possible for everyone who visits.
"They haven’t done anything since Ruth's death but we have been told a number of other people have fallen in since then and were lucky to get out of the water."
The coroner said he would raise the family’s concerns with Louth County Council.
He said he would write to the council asking it to conduct a feasibility study into the possibility of building a safety rail.
The inquest at Dundalk Courthouse was told Ms Maguire left Taffe's Bar in Carlingford at around 11.30pm on 16 March.
Doorman Les McIlroy said she had asked if she could leave by a back door because of an altercation involving members of another hen party.
The coroner said Ms Maguire had not been involved in the altercation and had asked to leave by a separate door to avoid confrontation.
Mr McIlroy said Ms Maguire told him she wanted to go home to her family in Newcastle, but he told her there were no taxis available.
A garda told the inquest she had called her fiancé, James Griffin, shortly after leaving the bar and asked him to collect her, but she had called his work mobile phone, which was turned off.
Mr Griffin, who attended the inquest, did not get the message until he turned the phone back on again two weeks later.
