Yacht club commodore drowned in ‘tragic accident’ after slipping into Liffey – The Irish Times

A former commodore of the Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club drowned when he slipped and fell into the River Liffey while attempting to board a boat in the club's marina after a night of drinking, an inquest has heard.

John Wedick (78), formerly of Camolin, Co Wexford, was celebrating the yacht club's 50th anniversary at its clubhouse in Ringsend on 18 November 2023, in the hours before he drowned. The following morning his body was discovered floating in the water near the marina.

The deceased's son, John Wedick Jr., told a sitting of Dublin District Coroner's Court on Tuesday that his father had been in good health at the time of his death and had been looking forward to the anniversary celebrations. He told the court that Mr Wedick, a long-standing member of the club who grew up here, knew the area well.

After the party, Mr. Wedick was supposed to sleep on his son's boat, which was moored in the marina behind the clubhouse, Mr. Wedick Jr. told the court. He said he understood that shortly after leaving the event, between about 12:30 a.m. and 1 a.m., Mr. Wedick slipped while trying to board.

Garda Paul Fay, of Donnybrook Garda Station, said he had reviewed CCTV footage of the moments before Mr Wedick entered the water.

He said CCTV showed Mr Wedick leaving the event and walking to the back of the clubhouse where the marina was located. Mr Wedick could be seen walking across the marina pontoon to his son's boat, the Garda said.

He said the footage then became grainy and that Mr Wedick's fall was not visible, but his body could later be seen in the water.

Garda Fay said Mr Wedick did not appear unsteady on his feet in the footage. A pathologist later found mild alcohol intoxication in Mr Wedick's blood, the court heard, and coroner Dr Clare Keane noted the level of intoxication was “certainly not at the upper end”.

Garda Fay added that the boats in the marina were “all lined up next to each other” and that the weather that night was dry. No one else was with him when he fell, the Garda said.

The court heard that Mr Wedick was “smartly dressed” at the time – the anniversary celebrations required evening dress – and that he was not wearing sailing shoes, which are normally worn on the pontoon.

“It just looks like it was a tragic accident,” the Garda said.

The alarm was raised after 8am when Wedick's body was discovered floating in the waters of the marina, the court heard. Gardaí and Dublin Fire Brigade responded to the incident and later recovered the body.

Dr Keane returned a verdict of accidental death and expressed her condolences to Mr Wedick's family, pointing out that his death was unexpected and “out of the blue”.