Inquest into young jockey's death adjourned as key witness absent

The inquest into the death of the apprentice jockey Seán Cleary was opened yesterday but was later adjourned by the Dublin City Coroner because a key witness was not present.

Cleary (22), from Athlone, Co Westmeath, died in Beaumont Hospital on November 1st, 2003, after sustaining head injuries in a fall from a horse at the Galway Races less than a week earlier.

His girlfriend, Ms Maggie Farrell, gave birth to his son, Seán jnr, while he was in a coma in Beaumont Hospital.

Yesterday, the Dublin City Coroner, Dr Brian Farrell, formally opened the inquest but agreed to adjourn it when it emerged that the only jockey who would give evidence was out of the country.

Niall McCullagh, a flat jockey from Carlow, was the only jockey to give a statement on the incident. The court heard that he spends the winters racing in India as the flat season here ends in late October and does not resume until late March.

Mr Nap Keeling, for the Cleary family, sought the adjournment and also said he was "slightly mystified" as to why only one jockey was interviewed in relation to the incident.

Cleary fell from the Paddy Mullins-trained All Heart in the Corrib Oil Auction Race, the first race of the day at Ballybrit. While McCullagh's statement was provided to the coroner's court, Mr Keeling said the family would like to hear him giving his evidence.

Mr Denis Egan, chief executive of the Turf Club, told Dr Farrell he would try to make contact with McCullagh to see how soon he could be available to attend the inquest.

He also agreed to watch an official Turf Club video of the race with Cleary's family, in an attempt to identify any other jockeys in close proximity to Cleary who might be able to give evidence to the court.

Before the adjournment, Cleary's father, Thomas, gave evidence of formally identifying his son's body at Beaumont Hospital on the day of his death.

He told Dr Farrell that Seán started riding ponies at the age of four and had progressed to flat racing. The coroner then listed the case for mention on December 15th next.

Afterwards, the jockey's father said he was happy the case had been adjourned. They had no issue with McCullagh's evidence, he said, but as he was the key witness the family wanted to hear his evidence at first hand.

Asked how he and his wife, Kathleen, were coping after their son's death, Mr Cleary said, "It's a life sentence and it gets no better."

Cleary rode 33 winners during his short career. At the time of his death, he was apprenticed to trainer Pat Flynn in Carrick-on-Suir.

He rode Traverse - the horse owned by television presenter Hector Ó hEochagáin - to his first victory in Ballinasloe. The horse was featured in the RTÉ series Only Fools Buy Horses.