'Our dad loved his job', inquest of senior garda told

A verdict of death by suicide has been returned in the inquest into the death of a senior garda detective who took his own life at a garda station in Dublin six years ago.

The inquest into the death of Detective Superintendent Colm Fox heard he died from a single self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

He was found dead in his office at Ballymun Garda Station on the evening of 10 February 2018 with a number of notes left along with his official firearm.

The inquest had previously heard how he was under intense pressure over the Regency Hotel murder investigation and following trial.

In her finding, coroner Dr Myra Cullinane said it was tragic that a man who had been described as a perfectionist appeared to have perceived an aspect of his work as a catastrophe; such that he felt he should take his own life.

She made recommendations about the implementation of mental health supports within the force along with the digitisation of An Garda Síochána's current firearms training records to replace the current hard copy.

Dr Cullinane said she endorsed the full implementation of a "mental health first aid kit" within the force.

She said Det Supt Fox had been the subject of many expressions of admiration in relation to him as a valued colleague and friend and a devoted family man.

'It is so sad that his life finished as it did'

Speaking after the verdict, Det Supt Fox’s son David said his father was taken too soon and that the circumstances of his death were distressing and tragic "but we never lost sight of a father, husband, son and brother we knew and loved".

He said the family were grateful to the coroner for the verdict she gave and that they appreciated the recommendations she made.

"We earnestly hope that those recommendations will be followed in time to come. Our dad loved his job. It was part of what made him the person he became. In the end, we know it was all too much for the strain and the stress and the responsibility of his job.

"It is so sad that his life finished as it did, and we hope that no other family goes through the loss that we have endured."

Shane Murphy, SC, acting for An Garda Síochána spoke in the court on behalf of Garda Commissioner Drew Harris. He offered his sincere condolences to the Fox family and said Colm was deeply missed by all his colleagues and friends in the force.

On the fourth and final day of the inquest at the Dublin District Coroners Court, evidence about the work stress Det Supt Fox was under at the time of his death was given.

During his deposition, lead investigator Detective Superintendent James Tierney illustrated the workload Det Supt Fox had been under at the time of his death when he was the senior officer in charge for the Dublin Metropolitan Region (North).

Det Supt Tierney referred to data from crime statistics for that area from 2015 to 2018.

During that period, there were nine murders in the region, ten attempted murders, one case of manslaughter, 47 discharges of weapons, 15 cash-in-transit robberies, 424 sexual assaults, 64 aggravated burglaries and 69 cases of possession of firearms.

He detailed how letters were found, written by Det Supt Fox and left on his desk in his office in Ballymun - one of which referred to an "act of omission" the senior guard felt he was at fault for in the Regency Hotel murder investigation.

The inquest had earlier heard detail about "endless demands".

Det Supt Tierney concluded his evidence by describing Det Supt Colm Fox as a very proud member of An Garda Síochána, that he was highly respected and valued by colleagues and members of the garda senior leadership team.

An inspector for the Health and Safety Authority, Padriac McMahon told the coroner that it found no breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2005 in its investigation into this case.

Mr McMahon said that following its investigation into the death of Det Supt Fox, the stress he was suffering from had not been reported to his employer.

The HSA recommended a more robust system of work should be put in place for mental health issues.

The inquest also heard from An Garda Siochana’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr Oghenovo Oghuvbu, who told the court that the systems in place to support members of the force had been updated following a review.

Dr Oghuvbu told the court a welfare service that was available to all members of the force had been renewed in 2020 with an increase of supports including education and further awareness of resources for management.

He said interventions were self-accessible for members and that a health and wellbeing strategy and mental health first aid training programme was being rolled out across the force.