A 57-year-old woman who was found dead at her home in Cork last year, had rebuffed the "countless attempts" of her loving family to help her, an inquest has heard.
The remains of Joyce O'Mahony were discovered in a back room of her home in Brookfield Lawn near the Lough in Cork city on 21 May 2024.
A post-mortem examination on her remains found that Ms O'Mahony was dead for around six months before she was found.
Cork Coroner’s Court heard that Ms O'Mahony lived alone following the death of her mother Patricia in 2021 and seldom left the house during the day. She only ventured out at night to buy groceries at a nearby supermarket.
Lough resident Eoin Grant, who was helping a neighbour of Ms O'Mahony with a vermin problem, believed Ms O'Mahony's house, which he described as "very overgrown", was the source of the vermin issue.
He said he gained access to the house using a crowbar and that all of the downstairs rooms were locked, except for the back room, where he said he discovered Ms O'Mahony's remains
Another neighbour, Gerard O'Connor, said he last saw Ms O'Mahony in October 2022, outside her house.
Evidence was read in to the record from GP Dr Claire McCarthy.
Ms O'Mahony attended at her surgery from 2012 to 2018. Dr McCarthy said it was her belief that her patient had a personality disorder.
Dr McCarthy said that Ms O'Mahony was "sad and reclusive" but did not want to engage with anyone. She was on antidepressants for depression.
She added that Ms O'Mahony had osteoporosis with a background of a possible history of anorexia.
A statement from the O’Mahony family was also read in to the record, who described Ms O'Mahony as a very capable person who worked in London for 20 years.
"In the few years prior to her moving back to Cork to live with our mother in November 2010, following our father's death, she became quite withdrawn, having limited contact with the rest of the family, even as her siblings - who lived in Cork, Dublin and London - did their best to support and visit their parents as they got older."
The statement continued: "It was somewhat of a surprise, then, when she left her life in London to move back to Cork. It was only a matter of months, however, when she changed the lock on the front door ... so that no-one else in the family could gain access.
"She then had the telephone landline disconnected and took control of our mother's mobile phone. The only way to reach her, and to visit our mother, was by phone, text or email, and strictly by appointment only.
The family said in late 2016 and early 2017 they received medical advice that their mother's dementia was advancing rapidly and that her condition seemed to be too much for Ms O'Mahony to handle.
Their mother was eventually moved to a nursing home in 2017 and died in 2021.
The family made numerous attempts to reach out to Ms O'Mahony, but to no avail.
"We made attempts to reach out to her, through 'on spec' calls to the house and with notes under the front door, but again to no avail.
"When our mother died, during the height of Covid-19, we kept Joyce informed of the funeral arrangements and offered to arrange transport so that she could attend. She didn't engage and didn't attend.
"It was with great sadness and shock, then, that we learned, in May 2024, that Joyce had been tragically found dead in the family home."
'Lively, intelligent and capable person'
The family added that they would remember Ms O'Mahony at her best as a "lively, intelligent and capable person."
"She had an excellent sense of humour and had a personal interest in fashion, music and horses.
"Sadly, before and after she moved back from London to Cork in 2010, there was a notable change in her and she became withdrawn and uncooperative, eventually rebuffing countless attempts by the family to reach out to her in person, by phone, text or email.
"We held a small, private funeral service for Joyce in June 2024.
"We hope that, now, she can rest in peace."
Dr Asmaa Abdelsadek carried out the post-mortem on Ms O'Mahony's remains.
She said that given that the remains were "skeletal and mummified" in nature, Ms O'Mahony was dead for a period "not less than six months".
Dr Abdelsadek said there was no evidence of trauma to the body. She could not determine the cause of death, given the advanced state of decomposition.
Coroner Philip Comyn said that there was no third party involvement in the death. An open verdict was recorded.
He offered his sympathy to the O'Mahony family whom he said "found themselves in a difficult position" when Ms O'Mahony became more and more "reclusive and withdrawn".
