Dundalk woman died from sharp force trauma after alleged axe attack at family party

Patricia “Pat” Muckian, 81, from Dundalk died on May 13 – ten days after she was allegedly attacked with an axe at an event in her niece’s house which was being held to celebrate her sister-in-law’s 75th birthday

An elderly Dundalk woman, whose death in May is the subject of a murder investigation, died of severe traumatic brain injury due to sharp force trauma, an inquest has heard.

Patricia “Pat” Muckian, 81, of Ballynahattin, Dundalk, Co Louth, died at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin on May 13 – ten days after she was allegedly attacked with an axe at an event in her niece’s house in Glenwood, Dundalk, Co Louth which was being held to celebrate her sister-in-law’s 75^th birthday.

Ms Muckian, a former general manager of Dundalk Credit Union, was originally brought to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda but was later transferred to Beaumont Hospital due to the critical nature of her injuries.

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The deceased’s sister, Margaret Muckian, gave evidence at a brief sitting of Dublin District Coroner’s Court on Monday of formally identifying her sister’s body to Gardaí in the intensive care unit in Beaumont Hospital. The coroner, Cróna Gallagher, said postmortem results showed Ms Muckian had died as a result of severe traumatic brain injury due to sharp force trauma.

Inspector Liam Archibold applied for an adjournment of the inquest under Section 25 (2) of the Coroners Act on the basis that criminal proceedings have already been instituted in the case. Inspector Archibold told the coroner that a criminal investigation had commenced on the day of the incident when Ms Muckian sustained her injuries. He confirmed that someone had already been charged with Ms Muckian’s murder and had appeared before a court.

Dr Gallagher granted the application and adjourned the inquest to a date to be fixed on the conclusion of related court proceedings. The coroner offered her sympathy to a small group of Ms Muckian’s relatives who attended the hearing and observed that it was “very difficult to give that evidence on this very tragic death”.

A relative of the deceased, Nicholas Muckian, 47, was charged with her murder at a sitting of Dundalk District Court in July. When charged with the offence, the accused replied: “I don’t understand.”

Mr Muckian, of Glenwood, Dundalk, Co Louth, was originally charged with three counts of assault causing harm to three women on May 3, including the deceased’s sister-in-law, Mairead and niece, Maria, as well as unlawfully intimidating another person with a hatchet.

A solicitor for the DPP informed Judge Mark O’Connell in July that the assault charge in relation to the deceased could be withdrawn.

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