The skeletal remains of 57-year-old Joyce O'Mahony were discovered at her Cork home, where she lived alone after her mother's death in 2021. An inquest revealed that Joyce had rebuffed countless attempts by her family to help her, choosing to live a reclusive life.
A woman who was found in a state of advanced decomposition at her home in Cork where she lay dead for a period of at least six months had rebuffed the “countless attempts” of her loving family to help her, an inquest has heard.
The skeletal remains of 57 year old Joyce O’Mahony were uncovered in a back room of her semi detached home in Brookfield Lawn near the Lough in Cork city on May 21, 2024. Cork Coroner’s Court heard that Joyce lived alone following the death of her mother Patricia in 2021. She had a “night owl” existence seldom leaving the house during the day. She only ventured out at night to buy groceries at a nearby supermarket. Lough resident Eoin Grant was helping a neighbour of Joyce’s with a vermin problem. Mr Grant, who works in pest control, said that he spent months trying to get rid of mice at the house of the woman. He said that the garden of the O’Mahony house was “very overgrown” and the property looked derelict. It was determined that the house might be the source of the vermin problem and Eoin went to investigate. Mr Grant gained access to the house with the use of a crowbar. He said that all of the rooms downstairs were locked except for the back room. “It was ajar. I forced it open. I looked around the door and there was a decomposed body looking at me.” Meanwhile, a next door neighbour of the deceased Gerard O’Connor, said that Joyce lived overseas for many years before moving back home to Cork in 2010. He said Joyce only ever went shopping at night.When asked by Coroner Philip Comyn if Joyce seemed to go out of her way to avoid people he replied that this was the case. Mr O’Connor noted that the gardai had called to check up on Joyce at one point as her sister hadn’t been able reach her. “She told the guards that she didn’t want any contact with anyone. You would see the lights on at the back of the house at night.” Mr O’Connor said that the light was on at back of the house every night. He assumed Joyce was turning it on in the evening. However, Sgt Fergus Twomey stated that it was possible that the light was left on 24/7 and that the neighbours naturally assumed that it was being turned on at night because that is when the light became apparent to them. Mr O’Connor said that he last spotted Joyce in October of 2022 when he saw her outside the house in a black overcoat. He indicated that she would “just walk past” when a neighbour came across her. He said that when people saw the overgrown garden they would ask if anyone was living in the property. “I’d say ‘yeah but you would never see her.’ She had given us a key years previously to keep an eye on the house but when her mother died she took back the key. That was our last contact with her. Covid came and then you wouldn’t see anyone. I was still working then. I did shift work.” Evidence was read in to the record from GP Dr Claire McCarthy. Joyce attended at her surgery from 2012 to 2018. Dr McCarthy said it was her understanding that Joyce had worked in an X ray department in the UK. She said that it was her belief that Joyce suffered from a personality disorder. Dr McCarthy said that Joyce was “sad and reclusive” but didn’t want to engage with anyone. She was on anti-depressants for depression. “She was a strange lady but I got on well with her.” She added that Joyce had osteoporosis with a background of a possible history of anorexia. A statement from the O’Mahony family was also read in to the record. They said that Joyce was a very capable person who worked in London for twenty years. “In the few years prior to her moving back to Cork to live with our mother in November 2010, following our father's death, she became quite withdrawn, having limited contact with the rest of the family, even as her siblings - who lived in Cork, Dublin and London - did their best to support and visit their parents as they got older. "It was somewhat of a surprise, then, when she left her life in London to move back to Cork. It was only a matter of months, however, when she changed the lock on the front door so that no-one else in the family could gain access. "She then had the telephone landline disconnected and took control of our mother's mobile phone. The only way to reach her, and to visit our mother, was by phone text or email, and strictly by appointment only. "At this point, seeing that the front of the house was becoming overgrown, she agreed that the work needed to be done, which was paid for by her siblings.” The O’Mahony siblings said that in late 2016 and early 2017, they received medical advice that their mother's dementia was advancing rapidly and that her condition seemed to be too much for Joyce to handle. “On a number of occasions and in the few communications she engaged with, Joyce had referred to having medical appointments herself but never expanded on that, so we didn't know if she actually had a medical condition and, if so, what that was. It had also become increasingly difficult for the family doctor and health care staff to engage with Joyce to gain access to the house to see and assess our mother. "We swiftly pursued the more affordable Fair Deal route to have our mother placed in full-time care as we had heard about an available place in a nursing home. We made repeated attempts to get Joyce to engage in discussions about our mother and about Joyce's own future, but to no avail. Joyce was uncooperative through our legal processes regarding family documents to make the Fair Deal happen.” Joyce’s mother was in the nursing home between 2017 and her death in 2021. The family said that they made numerous attempts to assist Joyce. “We made attempts to reach out to her , through 'on spec' calls to the house and with notes under the front door, but again to no avail. When our mother died, during the height of Covid-19, we kept Joyce informed of the funeral arrangements and offered to arrange transport so that she could attend. She didn't engage and didn't attend. It was with great sadness and shock, then, that we learned, in May 2024, that Joyce had been tragically found dead in the family home.” The family added that they would remember Joyce at her best as a “lively intelligent and capable person.” “She had an excellent sense of humour and had a personal interest in fashion, music and horses. Sadly, before and after she moved back from London to Cork in 2010, there was a notable change in her and she became withdrawn and uncooperative, eventually rebuffing countless attempts by the family to reach out to her in person, by phone, text or email. We held a small, private funeral service for Joyce in June 2024. We hope that, now, she can rest in peace.” Garda Kate Kelly investigated the circumstances of the passing of Ms O’Mahony. She said that the alarm was raised at around 2.30pm on May 21, 2024 when the skeletal remains were uncovered by Mr Grant. She noted that the garden of the O’Mahony house was badly overgrown and that a car outside was covered in moss. Garda Kelly noticed that there was a “high volume of post” and that an electric heater was on in the property. Garda Kelly said that a technical examination was carried out at the scene but there was “nothing suspicious.” Bills, a Nokia mobile phone and receipts were seized from the scene for examination. She said that a brother of the deceased gave a voluntary DNA sample and it was confirmed by Forensic Science Ireland that the body was that of Joyce O’Mahony. Garda Kelly said that Joyce had no employment history following her return to Ireland and wasn’t in receipt of social welfare. The last transaction on her bank account was on the October 20, 2021. A receipt for groceries dating back to the June 23, 2023 was found in the house. Empty cartons matched the receipt. The fridge was empty. The last image taken on her Nokia phone was, dated May 25, 2023. It was a picture of the bottom of a mug and was presumably taken in error. Dr Asmaa Abdelsadek carried out the postmortem on the late Joyce O’Mahony. She said that given that the remains were “skeletal and mummified” in nature Joyce was dead for a period “not less than six months.” Dr Abdelsadek said there was no evidence of trauma to the body. She couldn’t determine the cause of death given the advanced state of decomposition. Coroner Philip Comyn said that there was no third party involvement in the death. An open verdict was recorded. Mr Comyn offered his sympathy to the O’Mahony family whom he said “found themselves in a difficult position” when Joyce became more and more “reclusive and withdrawn. He said that her siblings had made their “best efforts” on an “ongoing basis” to engage with Joyce but were rebuffed. Mr Comyn said that he had come across a number of cases similar to that of Ms O’Mahony where families “made every effort to keep contact” and neighbours knowing a person to be reclusive were respecting their right to privacy. He stressed that there was no “lack of empathy” for Joyce but she wanted to live a reclusive life. Unfortunately, she on a “downward spiral” which was no doubt worsened by the pandemic.Sgt Fergus Twomey also extended his condolences to the O’Mahony who were represented by Peter O’Mahony.Joyce was predeceased by her father Dr Thomas J O'Mahony who passed away in 2010 and her mother Patricia who died in a nursing home in 2021. She is survived by her three siblings. Join the Irish Mirror’s breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive breaking news and the latest headlines direct to your phone. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. 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