Inquest into death of Mayo teenager abandoned

AN inquest into the death of a 17-year-old Leaving Certificate student who died 10 days after allegedly being admitted to a Covid-19 ward of Mayo University Hospital was abandoned this afternoon after a man refused to identify himself and disobeyed the instructions of the coroner to leave the courtroom.

Prior to the scheduled start of the inquest into the death of Sally Maaz, Ballyhaunis, at Ballina Courthouse, the coroner, Patrick O’Connor, noted there were more than the 14 persons allowed in the courtroom under Covid-19 regulations.

A man at the rear of the court refused to identify himself and was asked to leave by the coroner.

“I am a member of the public. I do not wish to give my name,” the man stated.

He was then asked by Mr. O’Connor to leave the courtroom voluntarily but he refused to and also refused when repeatedly pressed by gardaí to do.

Others accompanying the male protested it was ‘unlawful’ to be asked to leave a public hearing.

One of the group, who identified herself as Jemima Burke, protested: “We have every right to be here.”

At one point, gardaí warned a woman who was filming on her mobile phone to desist from doing so.

After a break of about three quarters of an hour, the coroner reconvened.

He said everyone had a right to attend a public hearing but added that we are in the midst of the Covid pandemic, a serious health issue, where indoor gatherings are limited to 14 and what happened was in breach of the guidelines.

Mr. O’Connor said his main concern was for the Maaz family who are grieving the loss of their loved one.

“It is the privacy and integrity and the interests of their daughter that must be given priority,” the coroner continued.

The coroner then said he was not in a position to proceed with the hearing and adjourned what was a preliminary hearing to December 16 for mention only.

“I am not prepared for people's health to be endangered or the public guidelines to be flouted,” the coroner stated.

Following the death of Sally Maaz in April, her parents questioned the circumstances surrounding her death at Mayo University Hospital.

Abdullah and Rula Maaz said their daughter, who was born with a congenital heart defect, was admitted to the hospital’s Covid-19 ward 10 days before she died.

The couple, part of the extensive Syrian community in Ballyhaunis, were admitted to the Covid ward although, they claim, she had tested negative for coronavirus.

However, according to the family, she tested positive before she died.