Courts

Ironman competitors died from acute cardiorespiratory failure due to drowning, inquest told

Hearing into deaths of Brendan Wall (45) and Ivan Chittenden (64) in Youghal last summer opened and adjourned by coroner

Brendan Wall (L) and Ivan Chittenden died during an Ironman event in Youghal, Co Cork, in 2023
Brendan Wall (L) and Ivan Chittenden died during an Ironman event in Youghal, Co Cork, in 2023
David Forsythe
Tue Jul 30 2024 - 16:56

Two men died from acute cardiorespiratory failure due to drowning while taking part in an Ironman triathlon in Youghal, Co Cork last year, an inquest has been told.

Brendan Wall (45), originally from Cardrath, Co Meath, and Ivan Chittenden (64), from Brantford, near Toronto, Canada, were pronounced dead after being taken from the water during the swim section of the event on August 20th last.

The inquest into their deaths were on Tuesday opened and adjourned at Midleton Courthouse by Cork South coroner Frank O’Connell, who said the main purpose of the process was to gather sufficient evidence so that the families of the deceased would be able to register their deaths. Mr Wall’s parents, brothers and fiancee were present, as were some of Mr Chittenden’s relatives.

Mr O’Connell said with the deaths having occurred almost a year ago, he thought it was appropriate to hold a short hearing at this time. He told the families it was not his intention to go into any detail about what happened on the day the men died, but simply to identify the deceased formally and give an official cause of death.

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Legal representatives for Ironman, the event organiser, and Triathlon Ireland, the national body for triathlons, were present at the hearing. Mr O’Connell said the two organisations had been informed “out of courtesy”, but noted that the inquests would not be concerned with any controversies about the organisation of the event or “who said what to whom”. He said some “oblique reference” to matters that had caused some controversy would be inevitable, but the inquests would focus on when, where and how the deaths occurred.

Garda Seán Killigrew told the coroner he was on duty at Youghal Garda station on the morning of August 20th last and received a call to attend the Ironman event, where there had been two fatalities. He arrived at the event’s medical centre on Market Square at 9.25am, where both deceased had been placed in private cubicles.

He said Mr Wall had been pronounced dead at 9.18am following almost an hour of resuscitation efforts. He had been unresponsive when taken from the water in the Green Hole area of Youghal. Mr Wall was identified by his fiancee.

He said that Mr Chittenden was removed from the water in the Lighthouse area of Youghal and was pronounced dead at 9.09am. He was identified by Dr Meabh Hyland, a family friend.

Garda Killigrew said he formally identified both of the deceased to Seán Lynch at the Cork University Hospital (CUH) mortuary at 5.15pm. He said he took statements from RNLI volunteers who were present at the Ironman event and another witness, Sean White, the following day.

State Pathologist Margaret Bolster gave evidence of postmortems carried out on Mr Wall and Mr Chittenden at CUH on August 21st. She said both men died of acute cardiorespiratory failure due to drowning.

She said Mr Chittenden had also sustained a “mild blunt force trauma” to the left temporal area of his head which had caused significant bruising. She said there was no evidence of brain trauma and no skull fractures, but the bruising indicated that his blood was still circulating when he sustained the injury. She said it was possible the blow could have temporarily diminished his awareness.

Senior Counsel Jane Hyland, for Ironman, extended sympathies to the families on behalf of the organisation. Solicitor Michael Corrigan offered sympathies to the bereaved on behalf of Triathlon Ireland.

The coroner offered his sympathy also and said he was not yet in a position to give a date for when the full inquests would take place, but hoped to be able to do so soon.

He adjourned the matter for mention until September 24th, when he said he hoped he would be able to give a date for when the full hearings would take place.