Popular fisherman’s tragic death off Donegal coast recalled at inquest - Donegal Daily

A popular fisherman bumped into an old friend for the first time in a couple of decades shortly before tragical drowning off the south Donegal coast.John Bernar...

A popular fisherman bumped into an old friend for the first time in a couple of decades shortly before tragical drowning off the south Donegal coast.

John Bernard Cunningham was fishing at Malinmore when he entered the water and drowned last year in what was described as a tragic accident.

An inquest into his death was heard at Ballyshannon Courthouse by Donegal Coroner Dr Denis McCauley.

The 76-year-old, a keen fisherman in south west Donegal, went to the Glencolmcille area on September 24, 2025. The inquest heard that Mr Cunningham would have been a regular fisher at spots like the Silver Strand and Muckross. His vehicle was found at Malinmore the following day and his body was retrieved from the water near to Malinmore Pier.

The deposition of Martin Maguire was read into the inquest by Sergeant Stewart Doyle.

He said he was walking to the pier on September 24 and a car pulled up being driven by John Cunningham.

“I hadn’t seen him for 25-30 years and we chatted about old times,” Mr Maguire said in his deposition. “John said he was going to fish. I told him not to go on the rocks because they were too dangerous for anyone with bad hips. I told him to fish off the pier.”

A deposition from Mr Cunningham’s wife, Roseanne O’Donnell, was also read into the inquest.

She recalled how Mr Cunningham had brought her to the hospital on September 23 and they were waiting in the emergency department for the whole night. She said she was sent home and returned to Killybegs at 10.30am on September 24.

Ms O’Donnell told how Mr Cunningham came in for a coffee and later said that he wanted to go fishing.

That evening, Mr Cunningham had planned to “come out to keep an eye on” Ms O’Donnell following her hospital visit. When he didn’t return, she assumed he had become tired and didn’t overly worry. As Teelin was a blackspot for mobile phone coverage, she said she wasn’t worried when she couldn’t reach him.

However, the following day she tried to make contact again without success. A while later, Mr Cunningham’s brother, Paddy, rang her and said they too had been trying to contact him.

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At that stage, she was worried and some time later she got the awful news relayed.

“I was in total shock and I still am to this day,” Ms O’Donnell said in her deposition.

Kevin Cunningham, a nephew of the late Mr Cunningham, recalled how he got a call from his father, Con, to say that the family were worried about John, who had left to go fishing and hadn’t returned. They found his car at Malinmore and Kevin went to join them. When he arrived, Mr Cunningham’s body had just been recovered from the water.

At 4.20pm, he identified his uncle to the emergency services.

Garda evidence heard that a call came in at 2.25pm on September 25 regarding a man believed to be missing from Malinmore Pier. Gardai arrived at 3.10pm and heard that John Cunningham had gone fishing the previous day while his car was located nearby.

A short time later, John’s body was found and was moved in as the tide was coming in.

An advanced paramedic from the National Ambulance Service, recalled attending the scene and pronouncing Mr Cunningham deceased at 4.05pm. He said that Mr Cunningham was pulse-less when he approved and showed signs of rigor mortis.

Dr McCauley noted that there were some injuries on the hands and arms of Mr Cunningham. A scenes-of-crime officer indicated that he was not worried by the pattern of injuries and the pathologist who performed the post-mortem indicated that the injuries were likely caused by Mr Cunningham having been in the water.

Mr Cunningham had water in his airwaves when retrieved from the water and toxicology tests were Cleary.

While his tests showed some stress to the heart when he died, Dr McCauley said it was likely that he had fallen into the water his heart was put under strain.

Dr McCauley said that it seemed that Mr Cunningham went beyond the pier to the rocks, entered the water and had drowned.