Coroner urges people to look out for neighbours after two elderly County Roscommon women are found dead

The coroner for County Roscommon has urged people in rural communities to look out for their elderly neighbours and those living alone following two separate cases involving elderly women being found deceased in their homes last year.

The body of one woman wasn’t discovered for three weeks while the other was deceased for four days before she was found. A verdict of natural death was recorded in both cases.

Speaking at an inquest into both deaths, Coroner Brian O’Connor said that the rise in the number of these type of deaths was a cause of concern to him and other coroners around the country. He said “some people do not want to be contacted” but stressed that “we have an obligation” to look out for elderly neighbours and those living alone.

The inquest heard that in the first case, a local GP and public health nurse had visited the woman just before Christmas in 2022 following concerns over her living conditions and that she was not looking after herself. A Garda who was a member of the local community engagement team had also called to her previously and during the pandemic.

When they visited her, the woman, who lived alone with her dog, was wearing several layers of clothing and a woolly hat. The woman told them she stayed in bed during the cold weather. While it was noted she had got thinner, she was “calm, content and in good form”.

In mid-January, two public health nurses visited the woman’s home following further concerns about her welfare. When they got to the house, they knocked on both doors, curtains were closed, lights were on upstairs, and her dog was barking. They spoke to neighbours who had not seen her and a Garda, who was contacted, put in the back door to gain entry and discovered the woman’s body on the floor.

It emerged during the inquest that the woman was last seen three weeks before her death.

In the case of the other deceased woman who was found, the inquest heard that gardaí were alerted to a house in mid-January last year by a workman who saw a woman lying on the floor of her living room. She was pronounced dead by the local doctor, who arrived after being contacted.

The inquest heard that there was a missed call on the woman’s phone, which it emerged was made a few days before she died. She was last seen four days before being discovered.