An inquest has been told that a 13-month-old girl died after she became entangled in a blind cord belonging to a handmade gift, which had been fitted by family members.
A verdict of accidental death was returned by the jury into the death of Leah Troy, of Delaney Park, Dublin Hill, Cork, who was found by her mother entangled in the cord of a roman blind when she went to check on her at the family home on 11 September 2018.
A distraught Alice O'Sullivan, 28, told the inquest at Cork City Coroner's Court that she knew her daughter was dead the minute she walked into the room to check on her.
"She was just staring out the window, she was almost in a kneeling position, almost standing," she said.
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"I tried to remove the string around her neck, I tried to snap it but I couldn't and had to pull the cord from both sides."
She said she started screaming and told her four-year-old son Alex who walked into the room to get out as she did not want him to see his sister.
She rang 999 and brought her baby downstairs where she started CPR on her and waiting for the paramedics to arrive.
Paramedics worked on Leah for some time before she was transferred by ambulance to Cork University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead shortly before 2pm that afternoon.
Ms O'Sullivan told the court that her stepmother, Jude Hogan-O'Sullivan, had gifted the blind to her partner Mike Troy, 32, and herself for their new home.
"She made the blind herself. We hung it with her. We were concerned about the cord so we put the safety cleat up higher than usual so that it would be out of the way of the children," she said.
"I know our stepmother blames herself about what happened. There are so many ifs and buts.
"She [Leah] was beautiful, always up to mischief, never sick, she was just my gorgeous baby girl."
Ms Hogan-O'Sullivan told the inquest how she had been delighted when Alice and her partner had asked her if she would make the roman blinds for their new home.
She had made these blinds over many years for her family and when they moved in they all helped putting them up.
But she said she never thought that when the blind was closed, the baby could get caught in the vertical support cords at the back.
"My world fell apart, if I hadn't made this blind, she would be alive. I feel very guilty. I know I told Alice and Mike before, but I want to say again, I am sorry," she said.
Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margot Bolster told the court that the infant had died of acute cardio arrest due to ligature strangulation.
She said the cord caused pressure on the vagus nerve of the neck and she would have suffered an instant blackout.
"The little child would not have suffered," Dr Bolster said.
A verdict of accidental death was returned by the jury of three men and three women, who asked that the media highlight the case in order to make others aware.
Coroner Philip Comyn said he had found this to be one of the most distressing inquests he has had to deal with in a very long time.
Addressing the parents and family, he said it is very distressing and he can only begin to imagine the anguish the family are going through.
"This was a complete accident. There is very little solace I can give you other than the evidence of Dr Bolster that your daughter wouldn't have suffered. She would have blacked out immediately and have gone into a coma," he said.
He asked the media to highlight the dangers with blinds and ask them to drawn attention to the advice offered on blinds on the website of the National Standards Authority of Ireland.
