A coroner has told a grieving mother that the questions she wants answered concerning her 18 year old son’s death are not going to get answered.
Clare County Coroner, Isobel O’Dea addressed Clare mother, Linda Daly after returning a verdict of accidental death concerning Leaving Cert student John Daly on March 17, 2020.
Mr Daly died in a car crash in Cratloe less than one hour after kissing his mother, Linda on the cheek good night and telling her that he loved her.
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John died 150 metres from his home when his father Sean’s car that he was driving burst into flames after it crashed at a level crossing at around 2.55am on the morning of St Patrick’s day 2020.
John’s parents, Sean and Linda Daly want to know why John left his bedroom to go back out in his father’s car and if he did receive a call to go back out and who made that phone-call.
John had attended a party at a friend’s house earlier that evening and got a lift home with a friend’s father, Pat Horgan.
Mrs Daly said that all the Dalys want is the truth “from those those 45 minutes from when John kissed me to when my son was inside in an inferno”.
Ms O'Dea told Mrs Daly: “I don’t honestly believe that the questions you want answered are going to get answered.”
Ms O’Dea said John’s cause of death was smoke inhalation due to a vehicle fire. John is the Dalys’ only son and is a twin of sister, Claire.
Mrs Daly earlier told the inquest someone made contact that night with John to return to the Keogh household where there was a barbecue.
The inquest was told that John had six or seven bottles of Heineken across the evening until after midnight at Evan Keogh’s barbecue and was over the drink-driving limit for L plate drivers when involved in the single vehicle crash.
Addressing the first day of the inquest in July, Sean Daly said: “We are not apportioning blame to anyone whatsoever. My son was intelligent and he knew that he should not have gone back out that night. We are not blaming anyone over what happened that night. What happened that night is down to John. It is a sad thing to have to say but it is.”
He added: “We are not putting blame on anyone…It is beyond me that people couldn’t come to us and tell us what happened to alleviate our suffering more than anything else and to this day it hasn’t happened - I can’t make it out.”
At the resumed inquest, the house-owner, John Keogh and his son, Evan who hosted the barbecue gave their evidence.
Mrs Daly cross examined the two on their evidence.
John Keogh gave evidence on going to the Daly household the following morning after hearing that John had died in the car crash.
John Keogh said that Sean Daly told him that he usually leaves his car keys in the bedside locker but that night he left them on the telephone table.
After Mrs Daly questioned John Keogh on her son’s movements that night, Coroner, Isobel O’Dea told Mrs Daly: “You have what you believed happened and Mr Keogh is saying what he believed happened and there isn’t going to be clarity.”
Ms O'Dea told Mrs Daly that she hoped that the inquest would provide her a bit of closure adding that "it has been a very long journey and very traumatic for you and the family and John's friends”.
In response to John Keogh trying to offer his sympathy to Mrs Daly and speaking about John who he knew from hurling since he was 12, she replied: “I would rather you didn’t speak about my son, you are upsetting me.”
Speaking after the inquest, Mrs Daly said: “Someone holds the answer to why John went way back up that night. I will never get the answers. I know that.”
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