A MAN WHO fell into the Inner Dock in Dublin’s north inner city drowned despite his friend managing to hold his head above the water for around 40 minutes before they were rescued, an inquest has heard.

Robson Nkosana Prince Nkomo (33), a construction worker who was residing at the Ripley Court Hotel, Talbot Street, Dublin 1, was pronounced dead at the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital on 11 November 2024 after efforts over more than four hours to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.

An inquest into the death of the separated father of two who previously lived in Tralee, Co Kerry heard his mother describe her late son as “a very good swimmer.”

Euredis Chippendo gave evidence via video link to a sitting of Dublin District Coroner’s Court today of formally identifying her son’s body to gardaí at Dublin City Mortuary in Whitehall.

In reply to questions from the coroner, Clare Keane, Ms Chippendo said she had actually learnt to swim from her son who had been swimming since he was in kindergarten.

The inquest heard evidence of how the deceased had gone with his friend, Emeraldo Fernandez, to the Inner Dock in Harbourmaster Place to drink a few cans of beer at around 8.30pm.

Fernandez recalled how they had climbed over chains around the perimeter of the Inner Dock so they could sit on the quay wall with their legs dangling over the edge.

He recounted how his friend tried to persuade him to go back to the Ripley Court Hotel because he was tired as he had a four-hour train commute to and from work every day.

Fernandez said Mr Nkomo was heading off before he came back and climbed over the chain again when he seemed to lose his balance and fall in the water.

The witness said he was shouting at his friend to remove his shoes and take off his backpack.

Fernandez said he jumped in the water after around three minutes when he realised that Mr Nkomo was struggling to remain afloat.

The inquest heard he managed to swim and bring Mr Nkomo to an emergency ladder where he and another passer-by were able to keep his friend’s head above the water.

“I don’t know how I did that,” said Fernandez, who was treated in hospital for mild hypothermia.

He told Dr Keane that his friend was unresponsive while they were together in the water.

Garda Ava Daimon said Mr Nkomo was in a critical condition when he was removed from the water by officers from Dublin Fire Brigade.

The inquest heard there were difficulties with accessing the location and a crane lift was needed to rescue him from the Inner Dock.

Garda Daimon estimated that Mr Nkomo had spent 40-45 minutes in the Inner Dock before being lifted out of the water.

She said CCTV footage had captured the entire incident and had corroborated the evidence of Mr Fernandez.

She also confirmed that a passer-by had thrown a lifebuoy towards those in the water.

A report from the Mater’s emergency department recorded that Mr Nkomo was suffering from the effects of prolonged immersion in water when he arrived at the hospital at 10.31pm.

It showed his body was ventilated and warmed, but he showed no life at any stage before he was formally pronounced dead at 2.56am the following morning.

The coroner said a postmortem showed he had died as a result of drowning.

Dr Keane noted that the deceased had a blood-alcohol reading that was just under four times the legal drink-driving limit.

She said such a level was “not extremely high” but that Mr Nkomo would have been intoxicated.

Returning a verdict of misadventure, Dr Keane said there were a number of other risk factors involved in his death including that he had gained access to an area protected by chains as well as being tired and having a backpack on his back when he fell into the water.

The coroner said the evidence of his mother that he had suffered a hand injury which required him to wear a cast would also have impacted on his ability to swim in the cold water.

Ms Chippendo Nkomo replied that she had experienced cold water plunges where she could only stay immersed for a maximum of two minutes.

“I can only imagine what it was like for 40 minutes,” she added.

However, Ms Nkomo said she had “peace of mind” from being able to learn the full details surrounding her son’s death.

Dr Keane offered her condolences to relatives of the deceased who attended the inquest via video link including his former partner, Alicia Corridan and his twin sister, Ruth Nkomo, on what she described as “an extremely unexpected traumatic event.”