This article is from page 4 of the 2012-08-14 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
A FORMER Clare County Council worker who was found dead at his home in Kilrush last May died as a result of misadventure, an inquest has heard.
The body of Michael Noel Blunnie (61) was discovered by gardaí at his home at 2 O’Gorman Street on May 1, 2011.
An inquest into his death heard that Mr Blunnie died from positional asphyxiation, with alcohol intoxication and heart disease as contributory factors.
County Coroner Isobel O’Dea ruled that Mr Blunnie died by misadventure.
Door-to-door enquires were car- ried out in the area following the death and CCTV footage was also obtained.
Supt Gerry Wall of Kilrush Garda Station told Clare Coroner’s Court on Friday that “no evidence of criminality was established from these lines of enquiry”.
The inquest heard that an ambulance was called to the house on April 30 after Mr Blunnie complained of stomach and chest pains. Mr Blunnie refused to get into the ambulance. A friend, Paul O’Connor, said he placed a blanket over Mr Blunnie when he fell asleep that evening. When he left, he also placed a rag in the front door to jam it shut because there was no lock.
Mr O’Connor said, “He drank a naggin of whiskey while I was there.”
The inquest heard that Mr Blunnie’s house was in poor condition, with no electricity, heating or running water.
Michael Sweeney told the inquest that he had left his family home in Kilrush at around 6am to look for a lighter. After trying a number of houses, Mr Sweeney called to Mr Blunnie’s house. He told the inquest that he had known the deceased for a number of years. Mr Sweeney walked in, took the lighter and noticed Mr Blunnie lying down. He added, “I did not stay there. I panicked and left. I hate dead bodies.”
After calling to his brother’s house, Mr Sweeney phoned the gardaí, the inquest heard.
Of Mr Sweeney’s demeanor, Garda Gander said, “He appeared to be distressed and upset and struggled to get across what happened at 2 O’Gorman Street….He was very forthcoming.”
Deputy State Pathologist Dr Kahlid Jaber told the court that blood and urine analyses showed that Mr Blunnie “was drinking heavily at the time he passed away”.
He said the primary cause of death was positional asphyxiation with acute alcohol intoxication and hyper cardio-vascular disease as contributory factors.
Ms O’Dea said, “It is quite clear from the evidence there was no suspicion of foul play.” She paid her condolences to the deceased’s family and friends.
Retired garda Michael Ryan also paid his condolences to the Blunnie family. He said, “Mick Noel was nice, gentle man.”