Open verdict on man who fell from cliffs

A COUNTY coroner yesterday returned an "open verdict" on the death of a Czech national who fell off the 182m (600ft) high Cliffs of Moher in Co Clare last April.

The inquest is one of three being held in Ennis this week into the deaths in falls from the Cliffs of Moher on different dates this year.

A spokesman for the Doolin Coast Guard unit - which covers the north Clare coastline - said yesterday that 2008 has been its busiest ever year with 43 callouts. Six bodies were recovered, four off the Cliffs of Moher.

Yesterday's inquest heard that the man returned to his Irish home from the Czech Republic on April 4th and the next morning, he drove from his house in Mullingar to the Cliffs of Moher without telling anyone where he was going.

The alarm was raised on April 9th when a member of the Doolin Coast Guard unit, Thomas Doherty, spotted that a car had been parked overnight in the car park. He informed gardaí who traced the car to the man to his Mullingar address.

On April 11th his body was spotted at the base of the cliffs. A postmortem found he had suffered multiple catastrophic injuries. There was no indication that the man drowned and he was mildly intoxicated.

County coroner Isobel O'Dea said there was no evidence as to how the man entered the water. As to whether it was suicide or a fall there was no evidence and no third-party witness. She recorded an open verdict.

Paying tribute to the Doolin Coast Guard, Ms O'Dea said the unit carried out trojan work in sometimes violent and dangerous weather conditions.

Insp John Galvin said that time and time again, the unit is called out to save lives.

A spokesman for the unit said yesterday that they have been informed that the papers relating to the purchase of land for a station at Doolin harbour are now being completed and the deal should be finalised early in 2009.