Four inquests at Dublin City Coroner's Court were delayed for nearly two hours yesterday due to a problem in finding a jury. The cases listed for Wednesday afternoon were delayed for over an hour for the same reason.
A spokesman for the court admitted it was becoming more and more difficult to find jurors willing to serve at inquests.
He added that jurors are not summoned to attend the Coroner's Court but pointed out that, with over 500 cases a year being heard at the Dublin City Coroner's Court, this might have to be considered in the future.
When a jury was eventually empanelled, it heard that motorcyclist Declan Shannon (30), of Campile, Co Wexford, was injured in a collision with a jeep and trailer at Ballinteskin, New Ross on May 25th, 1998 and died at St Vincent's Hospital, Dublin, on June 8th. The jury returned a verdict of accidental death.
Mr James Healy (37), of Newtowncashel, Co Longford, died at Beaumont Hospital of severe head injuries on December 7th last, a week after he had fallen through a perspex panel in the roof of a shed under construction on his farm.
Mr Patrick O'Rourke (83), of Abbey Street, Howth, died at Beaumont Hospital of bronchial pneumonia on 29th January last. He had walked in front of a car at Abbey Street, Howth and sustained a fractured hip in the accident. The jury returned verdicts of accidental death in both these cases. The jury brought in a verdict of suicide in the case of a 21-year-old French national with addresses in Sandymount, Dublin, and Paris, who threw himself under a train between Lansdowne Road and Bath Avenue Bridge near midnight on July 8th last. He died of multiple injuries.