A 13-year-old boy, who had no swimming ability, tragically drowned at a beach in northern County Dublin. Bradley Lulendo was swept away by powerful ocean currents, an inquiry has discovered.
On Tuesday, the inquest held in Dublin District Coroner’s Court found that Bradley, a resident of Tyrellstown, was rescued from Burrow Beach’s waters at Sutton on July 11th, 2022. Despite sustained attempts at resuscitation, he was subsequently declared deceased at Children’s Health Ireland Temple Street.
A written statement was read out in court in which Bradley’s friend, Ephraim, described the events of that fateful day. They were part of a group who arrived at Burrow Beach around 5pm, enjoying themselves and engaging in water gun fights.
By 7pm, while Ephraim and Bradley were playing in the ocean, Ephraim noticed the current carrying Bradley further out to sea. He tried to get nearer to Bradley and described that Bradley was precariously perched on the balls of his feet. Ephraim went on saying, “We both began to submerge in water. Bradley lacks swimming skills; in fact, he’s a weak swimmer.”
While two group members managed to rescue Ephraim, Bradley, sadly, slipped under the waves.
Just as lifeguard Jack was ending his shift around 7pm, some people from the group approached him to report the missing boy; however, they could not pinpoint Bradley’s location. Another lifeguard alerted the emergency services.
Jack started scanning a specific water area, despite the challenging conditions of no underwater visibility and fierce currents streaming towards Baldoyle. The Howth Coast Guard and an RNLI inshore lifeboat later joined the search.
At about 7.30pm, under the guidance of the Irish Coast Guard, the senior lifeguard on duty, Éilish McGloin, started an underwater search, discovering Bradley approximately 40 minutes later. Along with the RNLI crew, she moved Bradley to the beach.
Describing her findings, Ms McGloin said, “His eyes were closed, he was unconscious.” There she encountered Bradley’s mother, Madelena Lulendo, who was so overcome by the situation that she collapsed on the beach.
When Bradley was found on the beach, Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI) staff commenced CPR and defibrillator pads were employed by paramedics from the rescue helicopter, although it was deemed unsuitable to deliver a shock. After a gruelling hour of attempts to revive the casualty, Alan Gallagher, a helicopter-based paramedic, decided to airlift Bradley, considering it more expedient than waiting for a terrestrial ambulance.
Upon touching down at Beaumont Hospital, Bradley’s care was transferred to the National Ambulance Service (NAS) and he was subsequently moved to Temple Street. A report by Dr Nuala Quinn detailed no signs of life upon arrival – no heartbeat was present and his pupils were fixed and dilated. After around an additional eighty minutes of aggressive, but futile attempts to revive him, Bradley was declared deceased at 10.35pm. Ms Lulendo was asked to formally identify her son’s body to the police.
Ms Lulendo gave evidence in court on Tuesday and corroborated her written statement.
Robin Blandford, a member of the Howth Coast Guard, highlighted that heavy traffic near Burrow Beach on the day in question posed access issues. He and his team decided to abandon their emergency vehicle near Sutton Dart Station and made the last bit of the journey to the beach on foot, taking approximately five to ten minutes.
Blandford explained that it had been regular procedure not to request an ambulance immediately upon call-out, waiting instead until the need was confirmed by rescue services. Following a review data from the incident, Ivan Longmore, the divisional controller of the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Dublin, noted that it had led to a revision of this policy. Currently, the NAS is alerted sooner by the Irish Coast Guard staff responding to a call-out. He added this change had not resulted in a significant increase in service calls.
The court was also informed that there was no delay in sending ambulances to Burrow Beach when they were needed. Dr David Menzies, the NAS’s deputy clinical director, stated that the call for an ambulance for Bradley was classified as a delta response, the penultimate level of priority. He reported that an ambulance reached the scene 14 minutes post-request.
Dr Menzies observed that having two ambulance departments – the NAS and Dublin Fire Brigade – assigned to a single geographical area was less than optimal. Modifications have been put into effect in the control centres of the service to enhance coordination, he stated.
Ms McGloin, in response to Coroner Dr Clare Keane’s comments, indicated that a warning sign regarding swimming hazards at the site was positioned close to the beach’s entrance. She also noted another sign at this “extremely frequented” bathing area that informs beach-goers about strong currents.
The cause of Bradley’s death was affirmed as drowning by Dr Keane, who recorded it as an accidental death. She corroborated the alterations carried out by the Irish Coast Guard and the NAS in relation to ambulances dispatching procedures.
The actions of the emergency and rescue services that responded to the incident, along with the lifeguards’ commendable heroism were recognised by Dr Keane. She expressed her condolences to Bradley’s family in their time of grief.
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