Roscommon coroner’s court has returned an open verdict in relation to a 71-year-old man who drowned in Tarmonbarry.
He was drinking in a local bar hours before his body was found nearby.
This morning’s inquest in Ballaghaderreen examined the circumstances of the death of Eamon Lanigan, from Curraun, Whitehall, Tarmonbarry.
John Kelly, from Scramogue, said he went for a drink in the Shannon Bar in Tarmonbarry at around 9.30 on the night of November 9th, 2024.
He said Eamon, who he knew very well, was there at the bar and he joined him and they had maybe four or five pints in a couple of hours.
He said Eamon was in good form.
John said he went to the toilet at around 12.30, and when he came back, Eamon was gone.
Garda Aisling McLoughlin said CCTV shows Eamon leaving the pub through the back door around this time, and then appearing very unsteady on his feet and disorientated.
The inquest heard Eamon never returned home that night.
At around 7 or 8 o’clock the next morning, Greg Carroll, who lives on the Waterfront in Tarmonbarry, said he brought his dog for a walk along the river.
He said he saw the body of a man in the water, face down, and called emergency services.
The body was later confirmed as Eamon’s, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
In line with medical evidence, Coroner Brian O’Connor said he died from drowning.
He said alcohol intoxication and heart problems, including coronary artery disease, were contributory factors.
He returned an open verdict, because of the gap in evidence between the time Eamon left the pub and the time his body was found.
