Incident Report: Audrey Kiernan
Feb 12, 2022Homepage > Incident Reports > Inland Water
On 19 June 2017, Audrey Kiernan (42 years old) was walking home with a friend at 01:10 after a night out when she and her friend decided to cool off from the summer heatwave with a late-night swim in Swanswell Pool, Hillfields, Coventry. Ms Kiernan swam for around 10 minutes before she submerged for the final time. Her friend could not rescue her, and she was recovered by divers (Eccleston, 2017).
At a hearing in Coventry Coroner’s Court on 20 September 2017, the court heard from two eyewitnesses. One man said (Eccleston, 2017):
I saw Ms Kiernan swimming in Swanswell Pool and she seemed OK and then she just stopped swimming. I can’t remember what happened after that, but I spoke to police to explain what happened.
Another witness said (Eccleston, 2017):
I spoke with Ms Kiernan at the park and she said she was going for a swim because she was hot. She then took her top and jeans off and got into the water.
I asked if she could swim and Audrey replied “yes, I’m Irish. I can swim.”
Miss Kiernan’s niece Claire echoed Dwaine’s words, saying (Eccleston, 2017):
We’ve had three months since this happened, and we don’t want to read in the paper or hear that someone else’s life has been taken in that park. We also want to thank everyone at the coroner’s office who have been great with us.
Miss Kiernan’s brother Dwaine raised the issue of the lack of potentially life-saving equipment, such as rings, at the pool. Speaking after the hearing, Dwaine said (Eccleston, 2017):
That park is horrendous. It’s three months on and they still have nothing in place. There needs to be life buoys in place and a security system - why shouldn’t they be there?
In Dublin, there are cameras in all the parks now and rings at all the lakes, and next time I come over here I want to know they are here as well. It 100 per cent makes sense.
Assistant Coroner Angela Woolnough agreed it was an issue that needed looking at and said she would make her own enquiries (Eccleston, 2017). Reaching her verdict of accidental death, the Coroner said:
Ms Kiernan died due to an accident. The cause of death was drowning.
Audrey had a long history of alcohol dependency which took its toll on her health and personal life. Post-mortem results confirmed that Ms Kiernan had blood alcohol levels three times the drink-drive limit at the time she drowned.
Audrey Kiernan grew up in Dublin and came from a large family. Ms Kiernan had three daughters who were a great source of happiness to her.
References (5)
Note: I wish those affected all the best in their future. No part of this article purports to attribute blame. See our methodology page for further details of how these case summaries are constructed.
Eccleston, B. (2017). Coventry mum was three times drink-drive limit when she drowned during heatwave swim. (Coventry Telegraph, 21st September, 15:21; first published 21st September, 13:42). Available at: https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/coventry-mum-three-times-drink-13654254 accessed 18th July 2021.
Eccleston, B. (2017). Family calls for life-saving equipment at Coventry pool after mum drowned. (Coventry Telegraph, 21st September, 19:00). Available at: https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/family-calls-life-saving-equipment-13655174 accessed 18th July 2021.
Eccleston, B. (2017). Recap. She just stopped swimming – tragedy as drunk mum drowned while cooling off during heatwave. (Coventry Live, 21st September, 13:53). Available at: https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/inquest-hears-tragic-details-coventry-13652238 accessed 18th July 2021.
Eccleston, B. (2017). Swanswell Pool drowning – coroner to hear how drunk woman died during heatwave. (Coventry Telegraph, 21st September, 15:22; first published 21st September, 05:00). Available at: https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/swanswell-pool-drowning-coroner-hear-13647860 accessed 18th July 2021.
Mullen, E. and Gibbons, D. (2017). Inquest. Woman drowned in Swanswell Pool after drinking and going for a late night swim recap. (Coventry Live, 29th June, 17:33). Available at: https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/womans-body-found-swanswell-pool-13258365 accessed 18th July 2021.
Citation: Jacklin, D. 2022. Case Summary: Audrey Kiernan. Water Incident Research Hub, 12th February.
