A jury has recorded a verdict of misadventure into the deaths of two men who drowned when the cage they were working in at Thomond Bridge in Limerick, almost eight years ago, fell into the River Shannon.
29-year-old Brian Whelan from Co Clare and 36-year-old father-of-two TJ Herlihy from Co Kerry both drowned when the cage they were working on collapsed into the river on the afternoon of 29 August 2015.
Coroner John McNamara said they were on a job which came with some danger but one in which you would expect safety to be of paramount importance.
Mr Whelan and Mr O'Herlihy were both stone masons who were carrying out work on Thomond Bridge that afternoon, when the crane cable attached to the cage in which they were suspended snapped, with catastrophic consequences, plunging both men into the water.
The cage was attached to a crane on the bridge when the support cable snapped, plunging the attached cage into the waters below. Both men were also tethered to the cage, which complicated efforts to save them.
The inquest also heard that the audible alarm which should have indicated that there was an overload on the cable failed to operate, preventing any warning sound from alerting the crane operator of the danger that unfolded.
Two crane companies - Palfinger and Nationwide Crane Hire - have already been fined €225,000 in the Circuit Court for breaches of health and safety regulations arising from an investigation into the tragic incident.
Tony Cusack, who is a senior officer with Limerick Marine Search and Rescue for over 30 years, told the inquest how they got the call that there was an emergency at Thomond Bridge at 3.45pm that afternoon and they immediately proceeded to the location in their rescue rib.
On their way, they came across a casualty in the water, whom he now knows to be Paul Murphy from Co Limerick, who was also working on the bridge that afternoon.
Mr Cusack said they managed to get him into the rescue boat. Mr Murphy was traumatised but okay.
Then they drove to the bridge and he could see Brian Whelan in the water. He got into the water and grabbed him by his life jacket but he was still attached to the cage.
He asked his rescue colleagues for the rescue knife and tried to keep Mr Whelan as high in the water as he could.
Mr Cusack said he cut into Mr Whelan's life jacket to free him and passed him onto the rescue boat. Other rescue personnel were working on trying to free the second casualty, TJ Herlihy.
Mr Whelan was brought by the rescue rib to a waiting ambulance further up the quayside where paramedics continued to work on him but he was not breathing.
He was brought to University Hospital Limerick emergency department but was declared dead at 4.45pm, an hour after the emergency call went out.
Mr Murphy, the man who was also working in the cage that day but who managed to escape, said they all knew how to work the clips which attached them to the cage harness, but that no specific instructions were given by supervisors at the scene on how to use them on a daily basis.
He said they had been working in the cage at the bridge for four days up to the tragedy, working from the Tuesday that week, up to the tragedy on the following Saturday.
Mr Murphy confirmed that a risk assessment was done on the first day, but not on each day.
He also confirmed there was no safety boat in the water while the work progressed over the four days.
Medical evidence at the inquest said that both men died from drowning.
Coronor John McNamara said this was an absolutely awful tragedy involving double fatalities.
Following the verdict, members of the Whelan family said the findings of the inquest brought some closure for them and that now, after eight long years, they will at last be able to get a death certificate for their son and brother.
The O'Herlihy family did not wish to make any comment, but both families thanked the rescue and emergency services for their efforts in trying to save the two men.
