THE CORONER’S Court in Tralee heard yesterday how a man was doing chin-ups from the overhead metal bars of a beer garden at the rear of a pub during a night out with friends, when he fell and suffered brain damage.
Seán Mullane (24), Tournafulla, Co Limerick, had been out in Abbeyfeale on August 25th, 2007, to celebrate his birthday which was a few days previously, the inquest into his death was told.
The group of friends went to O’Riordan’s Bar, Main Street, Abbeyfeale, at about 11pm and went out into the beer garden at the rear of the pub “because the lads wanted to smoke”, his fiancée Katie Riordan said.
In tears while Insp Martin McCarthy read her deposition, Ms Riordan said the couple were due to get married in June this year.
That night “the lads” were discussing about how people were always climbing the metal bars across the top of the beer garden roof. “Seán said ‘I could do that’ and I said ‘don’t even think about it’,” she said. Ms Riordan told the inquest that it was common for people to climb the bars, but they were always told to get down. The bars were between 8ft and 10ft high, the inquest heard.
Ms Riordan said she saw Seán fall at about 12.15am on August 26th. He fell head first and his head hit the concrete floor, she said, adding that he never put out his hands to save himself.
He had been doing the chin-ups for about one minute, she said.
His friend Andrew Lyons said Mr Mullane had about three pints of beer before going to O’Riordan’s and he had about two bottles of beer there. The bar manager on the night, Karen Browne, said she had not seen anyone swing off the beer garden roof on the night and the pub operated a no-nonsense approach to any “messing”.
The jury returned a verdict in accordance with medical evidence that he died from the head injury.