The father of a young man who was killed during Storm Ali has spoken of his family's pain as they continue to seek answers surrounding their son's death.
Matthew Campbell was fatally struck by a falling tree when working at Slieve Gullion Forest Park in Newry in September 2018. The 200-year-old beech tree fell on 24-year-old Matthew while he was working near to the entrance of the forest park which was under the management and control of the Council.
Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, and Lagan Construction Limited, Belfast were fined £20,000 and £30,000 respectively for breaches of health and safety legislation at Newry Crown Court last year, but Matthew's father Mark says they still have unanswered questions, and feel their only way of securing those answers is through an inquest.
Speaking to Belfast Live, Mark Campbell said: "We had since day one wanted an inquest into our son's death but we were shocked when we received a letter from the Coroner's Office late in 2024, denying us a Coroner's Inquest. The Coroner would say that all the answers to the who, what, were, when and why had been answered at the court, so an Inquest would not been needed.
"We want an Inquest to expose how badly handled our son's death was dealt with, what we as a family had to do to get an investigation started with the help of UNITE Union, and to ensure something like this does not happen again.
"This whole incident and process has had a devastating effect on my family and will for the rest of our lives."
The family has now set up an online petition, calling for an inquest into Matthew's tragic death. In the first 24 hours of its publication, over 500 signatures had been noted on it.
Speaking about his son, Mark said: "Matthew is spoken about every day. Grief doesn't go away. It goes through us every day. Matthew was 24, 11 months out from being married. He had just got a house on Comber and he and Robyn had renovated together with family and friends.
"His life was ahead of him. He was just a typical young man at 24. He would be 30 now. He would have been celebrating five years of marriage today."
In a statement to Belfast Live, a spokesperson for the Coroner's Office said: "The Coroners Service for Northern Ireland (CSNI) was notified of the tragic death of Matthew Campbell on 19 September 2018 and a postmortem examination was immediately directed by the Coroner and carried out.
"A coronial investigation of the death could not proceed at that time due to the ongoing criminal proceedings instituted against the two defendants in the case. Those criminal proceedings concluded in late March 2024.
"Once the Coroner had been advised that the criminal proceedings had concluded, the Coroner considered whether it was appropriate to direct that an inquest take place. As part of that process she considered the sentencing remarks of the Judge in the criminal trial.
"A coronial investigation can only focus on answering the four statutory questions arising from the death, namely who, when, where and how. A coronial investigation cannot examine issues of criminal or civil liability – indeed, a Coroner is statutorily prohibited from doing so. The Coroner noted that the Judge in the criminal trial highlighted that since Mr Campbell’s tragic death, processes around the closure of such public spaces have been changed to prevent a similar tragedy occurring in the future.
"The Coroner has carefully considered the totality of the evidence now available in relation to this death, including the postmortem report and the outcome of the criminal prosecution. On the basis of the available evidence, the Coroner has concluded that the four statutory questions have been answered and that it is not necessary to direct an inquest into this death.
"It is usual that where a criminal prosecution has taken place, where all the facts surrounding the death have been aired in a public forum, that an inquest will not be necessary."
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English (United States) ·