AN OPEN verdict was returned yesterday by a jury at an inquest into the death of a young man who was found dead in a river 36 hours after he ran from a late-night Garda checkpoint.
Christopher Cahill (19) was last seen climbing into a field on the night of Friday, October 15th, 2004, as gardaí gave chase. His body was found the following Sunday morning in a nearby river.
His father, John Cahill, said his family would always wonder how long had passed from the time the gardaí saw his son to when he ended up in the water.
“We would have been there in 15 minutes had the gardaí contacted us. We will always wonder was he lying there for hours before he fell into the water.
“Maybe he could have been saved. It will be with us for the rest of our lives,” said Mr Cahill.
Christopher Cahill, Caherpeak, Kilcolgan, Co Galway, had been drinking with friends in Gort on the Friday night but after getting a taxi back to his rented house in Kilbeacanty, he had taken out his own car to go to another pub.
Garda Tom Kavanagh told coroner Dr Richard Joyce that he was manning a speed checkpoint outside Gort with Sgt Brendan Moore but that a Ford Escort failed to stop when signalled.
They gave chase and a short distance away they found the car parked and noticed a young male jumping over a gate into a field which led down a very steep ravine to the River Blackwater.
The gardaí searched the area for half an hour before having the car towed back to the Garda station. The search was called off as it was too dangerous to continue.
The inquest was told that the search resumed the following night after his friends had reported him missing.
John Cahill said he and his wife Philomena became concerned on the Saturday when they could not contact their son. Mr Cahill, an ambulance paramedic, joined in the search that evening after becoming aware of the incidents of the previous night. He returned in the middle of the night with friends to continue the search.
The following morning Mr Cahill resumed the search at an area known as the Punchbowl. He told the inquest how he found his son’s body in the water.
State Pathologist Prof Marie Cassidy said the cause of death was drowning and it was her belief that a laceration to his head was caused when he hit the bottom of the river.
Barrister John O’Donnell, who represented the Cahill family, said there were many unanswered questions about the case and that the Cahill family, who had privately hired a pathologist to carry out a separate report, felt the full facts had not been revealed.
However, retired Garda superintendent Paul Mockler said there was never any suggestion of foul play and that was why the scene was not preserved. It was not a crime scene, he said. He said allegations made by Mr O’Donnell were “downright insulting”.