Bundoran death fall deemed an accident

A verdict of death by misadventure has been returned at the inquest of a 17 year old youth from Dublin who died after falling 40 feet from a roof at the end of a surfing trip in Bundoran.
The inquest was told that Joseph Olwill, from Shanliss Way, Santry, Dublin, was locked out of his apartment.
Donegal South Coroner Dr Diarmuid Hegarty was told Joseph climbed out of a corridor window and crossed the roof in an attempt to gain access through the apartment window, although friends advised him to wait until they located a key.
The accident happened at Tyrconnell Apartments in Bundoran on August 25 at the end of a week-long holiday by 14 friends, young men and girls, who travelled by bus from Dublin to stay in two apartments while surfing and celebrating three birthdays.
The inquest heard of efforts by one of the party, David Keogh – a trained paramedic – to apply CPR to Joseph Olwill before gardai and ambulance personnel arrived with a defibrillator which failed to get a response.
There was medical evidence that Joseph broke his left arm in two places and lost a lot of blood due to a damaged liver. He had 163 milligrammes of alcohol in his blood but there was no evidence that he had taken drugs.
The jury returned a verdict of death by misadventure.
© Highland Radio 2011