DPP directs no prosecution over young boy who drowned in swimming pool accident

Seán McCárthaigh

The DPP has directed that no criminal prosecution should arise out of the death of a young boy following a tragic incident in a hotel swimming pool in Offaly over two years ago, an inquest has heard.

Oliver Forde (6) of Innismore, Crumlin, Dublin died at Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin on May 31st, 2022 – two days after he had got into difficulty while playing in the swimming pool at Tullamore Court Hotel in Tullamore, Co Offaly.

An inspector with the Health and Safety Authority, Aidan Kelly, told a sitting of Dublin District Coroner’s Court on Tuesday that the DPP has directed that there should be no prosecution in the case after receiving a file on the boy’s death from the HSA.

After hearing the update from the HSA inspector, the deceased’s mother, Nina Mahon, asked if a date could be fixed straight away to allow the full inquest to go ahead.

Fighting back tears, Ms Mahon said having to wait so long for the inquest to be held into her son’s death had been “a sadistic situation.”

“I just want to get on with my life,” she told the coroner, Clare Keane.

Ms Mahon said she had been waiting two and a half years for the inquest, but she kept getting “dragged back” to hearings.

“It is not fair to my children and my family,” said Ms Mahon.

She said: “I need this finished and the sooner, the better. It is sadistic to go through this.”

Ms Mahon said she also had to keep taking time off work to attend hearings.

“It is taking lumps out of me. My kids don’t understand it,” she observed.

Dr Keane reassured Ms Mahon that she was confident that she had all the necessary depositions from potential witnesses to be able to fix a date for holding the full inquest.

A legal representative of the Tullamore Court Hotel also attended the hearing.

A previous sitting of the inquest last year heard the results of a post-mortem confirmed that Oliver had died from injuries caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain.

The coroner noted that the boy’s brain injuries were consistent with “prolonged immersion in water.”

The results of the post-mortem were also examined by Tusla – the Child and Family Agency – who forwarded them to its independent National Review Panel which reviews the background to the deaths of children.

Oliver, who was a pupil at Harold’s Cross National School in Dublin, was rushed by emergency services to the Midlands Regional Hospital in Tullamore after getting into difficulty in the hotel swimming pool before later being transferred by ambulance to hospital in Crumlin.

He is survived by his parents, Denis and Nina, and his two brothers, Jack and Lucas.

Offering her condolences to Ms Mahon, the coroner said she had suffered a loss that is “unimaginable for most of us here.”

Dr Keane said her registrar would engage with his family to arrange a suitable date for holding the full inquest.