A NUMBER of serious recommendations are expected to be made within Irish rallying following the conclusion of the four-day inquest into the death of Dunmanway's Eoin McCarthy (22), who lost his life following an accident on the Castleisland-based Killarney Forest Rally in February 2022.

Throughout the inquest it was heard that there were no clear lines of responsibility; a lack of proper training of Motorsport Ireland officials in relation to dealing with serious incidents; issues with phone coverage; differences in medical opinion and duties of individuals.

There was confusion over the location of the Air Ambulance while an ambulance taking Eoin's co-driver Daniel O'Brien to hospital had slid off the road. One witness told the court that it was his opinion that the rally should not have gone ahead due to the adverse conditions.

There were no officials from the hierarchy of Motorsport Ireland present when the verdict of accidental death was recorded by Cork City Coroner, Philip Comyn.

The inquest received substantial media interest from national television, print, radio and social media.

Under the portico at the Cork Courthouse on Washington Street, Eoin's sister Rachel told the assembled media, ‘The McCarthy family wish to express our sincere thanks to Daniel O'Brien (Eoin's co-driver) and all the volunteer marshals and stewards for their efforts to save Eoin.

‘We thank all the paramedics and advance paramedics and all of the medical attendants, who treated Eoin on the day.

‘We remain committed to the sport of rallying and we hope that Motorsport Ireland finally learn from the mistakes of the past and that they now fully implement all of the coroner's recommendations without further delay.’

During evidence last Wednesday, Declan O’Leary, the stage commander, was praised by Derek Ryan, BL, legal counsel for the McCarthy family, for taking the initiative to send in the emergency services to the accident scene on the Mount Eagle stage.

Later it followed that he had seen a senior official of Motorsport Ireland – who had no official function at the event – taking a video of CPR being administered to the late Eoin McCarthy at the scene.

The late Eoin McCarthy.

Anthony O'Connor, the event radio controller, told the court that because of family circumstances – the death of his daughter some two years previous to the tragic rally accident – he had chosen to shelve much of what happened on the day of the rally as it was his mechanism for dealing with the tragedy rather than seeking counselling.

O'Connor said he wasn’t being evasive and that he had set out as a volunteer to do the best he could.

O'Connor said that he hadn’t seen a copy of the Motorsport Ireland Investigation Report prepared by John Naylor (vice-president of Motorsport Ireland and who is also a member of the Serious Incident Advisory Group) and couldn't recall if he was interviewed by Naylor. He also revealed that due to moving house, he couldn’t find a notebook that contained information he had kept on the day of the rally.

In his evidence, clerk of the course Dermot Healy said the deployment of the emergency services was the collective responsibility of the tracking officer and the radio controller.

He informed the court that he was aware that tracking officer, Ita Doonan, having received three SOS alarms and having made alerts each time, did on the third occasion, elevate her voice to inform radio controller Anthony O'Connor to deploy the services. However, by then, stage commander Declan O'Leary was leading the medical crews to the accident location.

Dermot Healy clarified that John Naylor had no function at the rally and was there as a guest. The previous day, O'Connor had said Naylor had no official role on the event but as far as he could remember he was involved in set-up and taping.

The court also heard from John Naylor that he was appointed by Aiden Harper, president of Motorsport Ireland, to compile a report on the tragedy. On the final day, counsel for the McCarthy family made the court aware that Motorsport Ireland – through an online article on the Monday after the tragedy – stated it was conducting a full investigation into the circumstances behind the tragedy.

When questioned by legal counsel for the McCarthy family, Naylor stated that he wasn't aware that his name was on the safety plan for the event. He also said he didn't review the full safety plan for his report.

The purpose of the report, he told the court, was to have all the information in one place.

When it was put to him by counsel Mr Ryan (BL), that the document was titled ‘investigation’, he accepted that it was what the document was called and there were no terms of reference.

John Naylor felt that the location of the accident wasn't a location where a car would leave the road. He was also unaware of a video taken by a senior Motorsport Ireland official near a bale showing medical assistance being rendered to Eoin McCarthy.

Giving evidence, a marshal at the scene, John Coughlan, expressed concerns at the rising water levels. He added there was a tractor in place at the accident location. A marshal at the location next to the rally accident, Mark Dolphin was of the opinion that the rally should not have gone ahead due to the weather conditions.

Counsel for the McCarthy family listed a raft of recommendations as the tragedy had exposed failures of Motorsport Ireland. Counsel for Motorsport Ireland, Bébhinn Murphy BL told the coroner that much of the issues have already been identified and a number of measures had already been introduced since Eoin McCarthy’s death in 2022.

At the conclusion of the inquest, Sergeant Fergus Twomey paid tribute to the McCarthy family for advocating for a loving son and brother, stating Eoin's voice was certainly heard over the four days.

As Eoin’s sister Rachel spoke about him afterwards, she said, ‘He was always up to mischief and he was one of the kindest people I've ever known. You never knew what he’d get stuck into next, but rallying was his real passion, and we’re still so proud of him.

‘Going forward it's (rallying) is a completely different ball game and his legacy will live on through that – what he has done to change the rules and regulations so others can enjoy it. And we hope to still enjoy it because there’s great memories there, sad ones now but we’ll never remember the lows, we’ll remember the great ones.'