Two competitors drowned in an Ironman triathlon swim event that the organisers deemed was safe to proceed, an inquest has heard.
Ivan Chittenden (64), from Brantford near Toronto in Canada, and Brendan Wall (43) from Cardrath, Co Meath, both drowned while competing in the swim section of the 113.1km (70.3 mile) or Half Ironman competition in Youghal in Co Cork on August 20th, 2023.
Det Sgt Ger O’Shaughnessy told Cork County coroner Frank O’Connell that gardaí had investigated both deaths and sent files to the Director of Public Prosecutions. The DPP decided in May 2025 there was insufficient evidence to prosecute anyone over the deaths.
He said 1,396 people participated in both the full marathon swim and the half marathon swim, with 52 of the entrants failing to finish the race – including the two deceased. Of these 52, 29 had to be assisted from the water by swim sea safety personnel.
READ MORE
John Innes, a seasoned yacht master who had served in the Naval Service for 12 years, told how he helped design the 1.9km swim course and oversaw safety supports on the day, including 72 kayakers and paddle boarders as well as 16 power boats.
Innes said the Half Ironman was due to go ahead on Saturday, August 19th, but Storm Betty on the previous day had caused a lot of damage to the road section of the event. It was decided to postpone the Half Ironman until Sunday 20th, when the full Ironman was taking place.
He said the wind had dropped and was improving throughout Saturday into Saturday night. It was decided to assess the situation at 3.30am on Sunday 20th, and while the sea had abated, it was decided to defer a decision until first light at 5.15am.
He said the wind was continuing to ease, and although there were rolling waves for the first 50 or 60m offshore at Claycastle Beach, the sea was calm out beyond this, and he was satisfied “in his own heart” that it was safe for the swim to go ahead at 7am.
David O’Brien, who was one of those providing safety support on the water, told how the first 250m are often the most challenging and that although the conditions were generally good and the current moderate that morning, there were three waves breaking repeatedly near the shore.
He said he was approached by someone in “an Ironman top” asking him would he swim through the surf, so he went to carry out a test swim and swam out for around 50m. He said that he had “excellent sea skills, so I found it fine”.
However, one of the competitors, Conor Hillick, who had come to the event with Chittenden, said he had swum internationally and had worked as a lifeguard in New Jersey where they would have flown a red flag and advised against swimming in such conditions.
Another competitor, Colin Ryan, described how the sea was very rough and the race was delayed a number of times while the markers on the water were moved. It was “a big challenge” to get into the waves, and people were “stumbling and falling into the water”.
Ryan also told how he came up to a swimmer who was face down in the water. He turned the man, who was Chittenden, face up in the water and began giving him CPR while calling for assistance. The casualty was put aboard a kayak and later the RNLI Lifeboat.
Consultant in emergency medicine, Dr Hugh Doran, told how he had paramedics perform CPR on Chittenden for over an hour at the medical centre on the quay, but they were unable to resuscitate him and he was pronounced dead at 9.09am.
Chittenden’s widow, Sinead Hyland, said her husband, who was working as a consultant with Ernst & Young, was in good health with no medical issues and was an experienced endurance athlete, having completed five triathlons and eight half triathlons including Youghal in 2019.
The inquest also heard evidence from Brendan Wall’s fiancee, Tina Mackay, who said Wall was also experienced in endurance sports and had come to Youghal earlier that summer to prepare for the Ironman and was familiar with the currents there.
[ Ironman tragedy: What exactly happened during the fatal triathlon in Youghal?Opens in new window ]
The inquest had heard evidence that Triathlon Ireland, which was supervising the event, had not sanctioned the swim section due to safety concerns. Mackay said that if Wall had known “Triathlon Ireland had advised calling the race off, he [Wall] wouldn’t have entered the water”.
The inquest heard a statement from Catherine Sheehan that she saw Wall nearing the finish at Green Park when he suddenly stopped swimming, so she raised the alarm. Dr Jason Van der Velde told how he performed CPR on Wall for over an hour but failed to resuscitate him.
Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margot Bolster gave evidence of carrying out postmortems on both deceased. She said both died due to acute cardio-respiratory failure due to drowning, and while Chittenden had a bruise to his head, she could not say what caused it.
The coroner returned a verdict of accidental death due to drowning in the case of Chittenden. The inquest into Wall’s death was adjourned to allow Sheehan to be called so that counsel for Wall’s family, Ciaran Lewis, could question her further.
