An “experienced swimmer” died by drowning last year after getting into the sea on a day when weather conditions were bad, an inquest has heard.
Paul McSweeney (65), from Dún Laoghaire, south Dublin, went swimming between the Dun Lún Laoghaire Baths and Sandycove Beach on September 14th, 2025, but was later discovered unconscious on Sandycove seafront.
His wife Gemma Walsh told Dublin District Coroner’s Court that her husband swam almost daily and “would not have been fazed” by the bad weather.
She said he would often swim at Dún Laoghaire Baths, sometimes called Casement Pier, or Howth Beach, but that he may have chosen Sandycove Beach instead as conditions were rough.
She said she would sometimes join her husband to watch him swim, but decided the weather was too rough on the day in question. Lifeguards were alerted at 12.15pm, the inquest heard.
Sean Dunne, a former lifeguard who was on the beach with three working lifeguards, ran to assist Paul McSweeney along with a former colleague. He found McSweeney face down in the water, flipped him around and applied rescue breaths to assist him.
Once he was on shore, they realised McSweeney was experiencing cardiac arrest. Dunne noted there was a lot of water in McSweeney’s airway and that defibrillator (AED) pads were not sticking to him as his chest was too wet.
An off-duty nurse who was nearby assisted and eventually they shocked McSweeney twice with AEDs. Members of the emergency services then arrived to treat him.
Dunne noted that red flags were posted on the borders of the beach due to the weather conditions. However, he explained that this was to protect the weakest swimmers. He said it was not unusual for people who swim regularly to be in the water on such days.
Coroner Clare Keane asked if it was possible to know how long McSweeney had been in the water. Dunne said it was not, but his best estimate would be around 20 minutes.
Dunne said the strong current may have moved McSweeney a considerable way down the beach. He estimated the time between notification and getting McSweeney to shore was around seven minutes.
When he arrived at St Vincent’s University Hospital, the medical report noted that McSweeney was suffering with ventricular fibrillation. This is a chaotic, quivering heart rhythm that stops blood flow and is the most common cause of sudden cardiac arrest.
He was also hypothermic at the time of admission. CPR ceased at 2.38pm, 2½ hours after he was found.
Walsh thanked Dunne and the other lifeguards, saying the family got “some comfort” from hearing that “anything that could have been done was done”. She said “the right people were there at the right time, it was just a little bit too late”.
In conclusion, the coroner agreed with the medical cause of death as drowning, but she recorded an open verdict due to uncertainty around where McSweeney got in the water and how long he was there before being discovered.