A FATHER of one hailed as “a gift to his community” died from acute blood loss just minutes before paramedics could reach him after a shooting incident.

A Cork Coroner’s inquest was told that Derry Coakley (58), an contracting machine operator from Macroom, bled to death by a roadside last October after severe suffering a gunshot wound to his arm.

Cork South Coroner Frank O’Connell  adjourned the hearing after hearing medical evidence following an application from gardaí.

The application, under Section 25 of the Coroner’s Act, was on the basis court proceedings are currently underway in relation to the circumstances of Mr Coakley’s death.

Mr O’Connell adjourned the inquest until early 2020 to determine if such court proceedings have been resolved.

The inquest was told by Det Garda Alan O’Sullivan that gardaí received a call shortly after 11pm on October 23 2018 to say there had been a shooting incident at Raleigh North, some 4km from the mid Cork town.

Gardaí were also informed that a man had been injured.

When gardaí arrived at the scene, a man was seen on the ground and covered in blood.

“He (Mr Coakley) was alive but he was moaning and rolling on the ground when we arrived,” Det Garda O’Sullivan explained.

“He deteriorated very rapidly. (Mr Coakley) took his last breath just before the ambulance personnel arrived at the scene.”

Paramedics worked desperately to revive Mr Coakley.

Unfortunately, after working on him for a considerable period, they were unable to resuscitate him and a local GP pronounced the 58-year-old dead at the scene.

Assistant State Pathologist, Dr Margaret Bolster, said she performed a post mortem examination on Mr Coakley at Cork University Hospital (CUH).

She found he had suffered a gunshot wound to his left arm.

The cause of death was found to be from shock and loss of blood due to the gunshot injury.

Mr Coakley, who was from Castle Street in Macroom, had been working with his agri-machinery at Raleigh North at the time of the incident. He was very well known in the mid Cork area for his plant hire business.

Tributes were paid to the contractor at his Requiem Mass where he was hailed as “the go-to man in Macroom” if anyone wanted anything done in terms of repairs or contracting work.

He was described as “a hard-working, kind-hearted and honest gift” to his community.

Mr Coakley had followed his father, Sean, into the machinery contracting business.

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