Menlo Pier tragedy: Garda leading investigation appeals for more witnesses

Funeral details for the three teenagers killed when their car entered the River Corrib in Galway City at the weekend have begun to emerge, as the Garda officer leading the investigation into their deaths, Chief Supt Gerry Roche, appealed for more witnesses to come forward.

John Keenan Sammon, aged 16 and the youngest of the three victims, is set to repose at his home at Árd An Chóiste, Headford Road, Galway, on Tuesday. His funeral Mass is due to take place at 11am on Wednesday in the Church of the Resurrection, Ballinfoyle, before burial in Rahoon Cemetery.

His death notice said he had died “unexpectedly after a tragic accident”, adding he was “deeply mourned and sadly missed by his heartbroken family, neighbours and friends”.

Christopher Stokes, one of 10 siblings, is due to repose at Conneely’s Funeral Home, Flood Street, Galway, on Wednesday, from 5pm. His remains are due to be removed at 7pm to the Church of the Resurrection, Ballinfoyle, where his funeral Mass will take place at noon on Thursday followed by burial at Rahoon Cemetery.

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His death notice said he died “suddenly and unexpectedly after a tragic accident”, adding he was the “beloved son” of Anthony and Kate. He was also “sadly missed by his heartbroken family” including his brothers Michael, Tommy, Tony and Martin, and sisters Annalise, Nicole, Geraldine, Katlyn and Lucy.

Funeral arrangements for the other victim, Wojcieck Panek (17), were being finalised on Monday. Mr Keenan Sammon and Mr Panek had both been pronounced dead shortly after the incident. Mr Stokes was still alive when taken from the vehicle, but died on Saturday afternoon at University Hospital Galway.

Gardaí were due to interview the occupants of another vehicle who raised the alarm after the victims’ car entered the water at Menlo Pier shortly before 3am on Saturday. Emergency services arrived quickly at the scene on the outskirts of Galway City but were unable to save the three teenagers.

While the water was relatively shallow where the car entered the river, it appears the three teenagers became trapped and were unable to free themselves. The car was pulled from the water by rescue workers but the recovery operation took some time.

Mr Keenan and Mr Stokes were both talented boxers and members of the Olympic Boxing Club in Galway. They were due to attend the Connacht championships in Castlerea, Co Roscommon, on Sunday.

[ Galway crash: Gardaí to interview occupants of second car near pier ]

[ Three teenagers dead after car enters water in Galway ]

The location of the incident remained sealed off at the weekend as gardaí tried to determine how the car entered the river. The car the teenagers were in was also set to be examined by the Garda in a bid to establish whether any faults contributed to it apparently sliding into the water, perhaps while the driver was trying to turn.

The small pier is used by fishermen and leisure craft on the Corrib and is just a few kilometres from the city centre, accessed by small roads in the Menlo area.

Chief Supt Roche said the scene of the incident is very close to the city centre, facilitating a very rapid response by the emergency services, though it was not enough to save the lives of the victims.

“(Gardaí) found the car had entered the water and the three young men were still trapped inside,” he told RTÉ Radio 1′s Morning Ireland. “So they immediately entered the water, and went under the water as well, to try to get them out. Within minutes the other first responders – ambulance crews and fire brigade – arrived and they were able to pull the car to a place where they were able to actually recover the three young men. But unfortunately, all three have since passed away.”

Chief Supt Roche appealed for anyone who saw a blue Peugeot car – registration 08D 128940 – in the area around Menlo Pier or on the Headford Road between 1.40am and 2.40am to come forward and aid the inquiry.

He said the car the victims were in, and a second vehicle, had both been in the area on Friday night into Saturday morning, and had been at nearby shops. The vehicles appear to have been driven between Menlo Pier and the shops a number of times before the tragedy in the early hours, when the victims’ car entered the water.

‘Community here is shocked’

Paul Hynes of the Ballinfoyle youth project in Galway paid tribute to two of the teens.

“The whole community here is shocked at the moment. John and Christopher were fantastic young lads who would have come into the project regularly since they were young. They would have had a busy weekly schedule in terms of after-school activities, homework clubs, indoor soccer classes. And I know they were very involved in the boxing club, so there were really great guys.

“We could always have the craic in the club and they were really looking forward to continuing the boxing season and getting under way. I can’t emphasise enough that these were great lads and there’s a lot of love and care that went into their lives and I have to say that the whole sports community and the local community is really still shocked about this tragic accident.”

Mr Hynes told RTÉ Radio 1’s News at One of how the close community was supporting the families and calling to their homes. Both families are well known and well respected. “People are rallying around as much as they can to support the family.”

John Keenan Sammon had already started to follow in the footsteps of his brother Martin, who was an All-Ireland champion boxer, Mr Hynes said. Mr Keenan Sammon’s goal was really to make the family proud, he said; he had just won a county championship in boxing and was really looking forward to keeping up the training.

“And he had brought back Christopher, who had an absence from boxing, but actually came back together with John just over the last months. I can’t say enough. These guys were into their sports. They were into, you know, just living life and making the right choices. And they were super nice just to stop on the street and chat to folks about sports and activities.

“They really were full of life and they were both very close to their families. And you know Christopher in particular was very close to his sisters and brothers and his mum, Elizabeth. She would have been driving him to every club and every activity they could get to, going back over the last 10 or 15 years to the whole period of his life.

“It’s just so unfortunate. It’s one of these things, it’s just a tragic accident, we’re just so saddened because these guys had so much potential, so much in front of them.

“The whole community can’t get over it at the moment and it will take a long way to come around. The boxing community, it’s a very tight community. So a lot of these families and young people are very well known in that community. And really it’s a shock. We had two college championships there on Saturday and there really was kind of a dark cloud over the whole day due to what happened the previous evening.”