LONG READ: How Offaly man's 'secret' wedding and 'surprise' death sparked three-day inquest

IT was an inquest like no other. Despite the best efforts of Offaly coroner Raymond Mahon to steer proceedings along the prescribed path of establishing basic facts relevant to Joe Grogan's death, the inquiry veered into territory which shocked, gripped, angered and saddened a rapt public.

From the opening exchanges on day one, May 16, it became clear that a pattern of claim and counter claim would dominate.

Even the simplest facts were either elusive or subject to constant challenge, hence the presence of lawyers for what effectively became two competing sides, Lisa Flaherty and the Grogans.

Damien Tansey, solicitor and senior counsel, who appeared for first cousins of the deceased, Sean, Padraig, Alo and Margaret Grogan, lobbed an early incendiary with a reference to what he said was the “would-be” marriage of Joe Grogan (75), to Lisa Flaherty, a woman 26 years younger, on April 14, 2023, the day before the Screggan farmer's death.

Stephen Byrne, barrister for Ms Flaherty, defended the validity of the marriage and fiercely opposed Mr Tansey's attempts to place it at the centre of the inquiry.

And even though Mr Mahon made a ruling that the inquest was not the forum for a determination of the marriage's validity, it featured frequently throughout, even after Mr Byrne handed in the marriage certificate on day two, July 4.

Of greater relevance to Mr Mahon's deliberations was the other bombshell revelation made by Mr Tansey on the opening day, that the pathologist who carried out the post mortem could not come to a conclusion about the cause of death, despite it being accepted Mr Grogan (pictured below) had cancer.

Mr Tansey went further and said that before a notification of death form was completed, Mr Grogan's body was “taken away and embalmed” and “irreparable damage was done” before the pathologist could carry out the post mortem.

To a large extent that was confirmed by the pathologist, Dr Charles d'Adhemar, who delivered his report on the second day of the inquest and said his examination was restricted by the prior post mortem and ultimately cause of death was unascertained.

There was a further dispute on the opening day about who would give evidence. Mr Tansey pushed for an additional witness, the Brocca farmer, Padraig Grogan, saying he would have “an awful lot” of helpful evidence.

Mr Mahon did allow Padraig Grogan as a witness but it turned out that he was visiting a family member in the United States when his cousin died. His brother Sean, a resident of Naas, was on the original witness list and was at Joe Grogan's home in Screggan on April 15, 2023, the date of death.

A third lawyer was also present throughout. Peter Jones, a Mullingar-based solicitor, represented a 90-year-old aunt of the deceased, Teresa Mooney, and he largely concurred with Mr Tansey's approach, though in a far less combative fashion.

All of the above alone would have been enough to guarantee a sensational few days at the inquest venue, Tullamore Courthouse.

But add in the fact that Joe Grogan was the owner of the land where the National Ploughing Championships took place in 2016, 2017 and 2018, and where they will again be staged this year, September 16-18, and countrywide interest was guaranteed.

The late Joe Grogan grew up as an only child after his sister, Marie Therese, died in infancy. A man who was said by his cousin Sean to be a “confirmed bachelor” until the day before he died, he did not have any children himself and had a farm worth an estimated €5.5 million.

On top of that, according to Mr Tansey, he had been given compensation of between €800,000 and €900,000 when the Tullamore bypass road passed through his holding.

People driving along that road can get a glimpse into Joe Grogan's character. On one side there is the curious sight of two vintage tractors held aloft by purpose built towers.

And on the other side, in the distance in the fields which are now being prepared for this year's Ploughing, is a grotto to Our Lady ringed by standing stones.

Though he had more than 220 acres of land, Joe Grogan was “not too fond of the farming”, the inquest was told, and was more “into the machinery”, hence his establishment of a sand, gravel and concrete business and his restoration of a 19th century threshing machine, as attested by his cousin Padraig.

The grotto symbolises Mr Grogan's faith and while the full extent of his devotion was a matter of minor disagreement between Lisa Flaherty and an elderly relation of Joe's who gave evidence, Enta Conroy, it became centre stage at one point in the protracted proceedings.

When Ms Flaherty was being cross-examined after her formal statement to the inquest was delivered, the subject of the marriage was inevitably raised.

She revealed that it had taken place in a registry office, though she did not say which one and was not pressed for that detail.

It emerged during the inquest that none of the Grogan cousins knew about the wedding and even Lisa Flaherty's sister, Niamh Higgins, a psychiatric nurse and the key witness to account for Joe Grogan's final day alive, had not been told in advance. That prompted an allegation from the other side that the marriage was “secret”.

What Lisa Flaherty did indicate was that Joe, though very ill, was well enough to travel to the ceremony by car. She said she drove herself to the ceremony and Joe Grogan did not have to lifted out of the car.

She further named Joe Keyes as being present and named two other men who drove, Tom Doolan and Tom Buckley.

She said there was a plan to have the union subsequently blessed by a local priest, Fr Michael Whittaker, at the grotto on her husband's farm.

While Fr Whittaker, the inquest heard, was just one of a number of priests who visited Joe Grogan before he died, he was the most frequent and it was specifically stated that his visits brought comfort to a man who died 10 days after his fourth course of chemo therapy for stage four stomach cancer.

Despite repeated and in the end exasperated declarations from Mr Mahon about its irrelevance, Mr Tansey zoomed in on the nature of the relationship between Joe Grogan and Lisa Flaherty. The lawyer, who stepped into the courtroom each day with the aid of a crutch following an operation, believed he was on fertile ground.

He seized on sworn evidence from Ms Flaherty, a local woman who worked as a special needs assistant in Mucklagh National School, that she had been in a relationship with Joe Grogan for about 16 years.

She later said that she had first gone out with him when she was 16, during her later years in school and when she was in college. She had then been with another man, Seamus Meacle, for about six years and also had three children and Joe Grogan was not their father.

It appeared her relationship with Joe Grogan was rekindled at some point in recent years and there was a room in his house which she used and she was his main carer when he became ill.

For Mr Tansey, the timeline and surrounding circumstances were enough for him to ask directly if the relationship between Mr Grogan and Ms Flaherty had been “consummated”, a question which prompted gasps in the courtroom and was disallowed by the coroner.

There was even more audible consternation in the chamber, where family members and friends of the two sides sat on separate benches, when on the final day Mr Tansey pushed matters even further and said Ms Flaherty's evidence that the relationship began when she was 16 put Joe Grogan “into the realm of being a paedophile”. Visibly upset, Ms Flaherty left the room before returning shortly after.

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In most inquests evidence from doctors and an undertaker, while crucial in determining dates, times, identities and where possible, a medical cause of death, is relatively routine.

Not this one. Dr Ben Kato, the doctor from the Midoc out of hours service who pronounced Mr Grogan dead in the 75-year-old's home, did not complete the notification of death form because he was not the man's GP.

It then emerged that his GP, Dr Grainne McHale, had never seen him as a patient and Mr Grogan's file was one which had been taken over by her practice from the farmer's previous practitioner.

There was clarity from Dr Kanthi Perera, oncologist at Tullamore Hospital, who gave her evidence by video link. She outlined how Mr Grogan had begun chemo therapy, responded well and would have undergone another course, pending the result of tests. Dr Perera did say however that she had been “surprised” to hear of Mr Grogan's death.

Even though he could not ascertain a cause of death, pathologist Dr d'Adhemar's own original assessment and reaction to other evidence was also uncontroversial. He revealed that his examination of vitreous fluid revealed the presence of Zolidem [used for sleeping problems] and two anti histamines.

In combination these could cause respiratory depression but it would depend on the levels.

It was the evidence of the undertaker, Martin Keyes, which caused much disquiet for the Grogans' lawyer. He said he had been asked to “do the funeral” for Joe Grogan by his own father who was a friend of the deceased.

He took Joe Grogan's remains to Shepherd's embalming service in Longford after the death, after being told approval had been given by the doctor. Under cross examination he agreed that Dr Kato had previously given evidence that approval had not been given.

The inquest heard that even though Mr Keyes had done about 100 funerals he was a part-time undertaker whose main job was as a truck driver.

Mr Keyes argued that it was “standard practice” to do what the family wanted done and he denied the process on the day of death was rushed. The inquest also heard that Joe Grogan himself wished that his remains be left in his own home the night he died, rather than put “on a slab” somewhere else.

Two days after the death Mr Keyes received a call from the gardai and the body, which was still at the deceased's home in Screggan, had to be escorted to Tullamore Hospital for the post mortem. Mr Grogan eventually had a private funeral after changes in the publicly announced arrangements.

There were several moments of high drama on the second and third days of the inquest when all witnesses were heard.

Especially striking was the account of Enta Conroy of her visit to Mr Grogan as he lay on his deathbed.

Ms Conroy, described previously as a second cousin of the deceased, said she was a lifelong friend who had been asked to look out for Joe Grogan by her own late husband before he died. She said that from her visits she knew he was in decline and when she called to see him on April 14, the day before he died, she brought a crucifix and holy water and blessed him.

She produced the crucifix from her coat while sitting in the witness box and said her concern was that her dying friend had not been seen by a priest. Of course, that was subsequently contradicted by Lisa Flaherty who said she took offence at the claim.

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While not subjected to the same level of scrutiny as Lisa Flaherty, Joe Grogan's romantic history was also examined. On the second day Ms Flaherty was asked about a relationship he had with a woman called Mary McDonnell and when it was put to her that it ended when a pre-marriage course was being arranged, Ms Flaherty said it ended for a different reason.

Ms McDonnell was referred to again on the final day of the inquest but in an unusual context. Explaining what happened when he visited his cousin, Sean Grogan said Joe had one eye closed and one eye half open and was carried to an armchair which was stacked up on blocks in the kitchen to provide a view out a window to a house the farmer was building.

Sean Grogan said that armchair had been given to Joe by his “previous girlfriend”, a woman named as Mary McDonnell. Separately, Padraig Grogan gave evidence that Joe had been in a 23-year relationship with a woman.

Of much more relevance to Joe Grogan's final hours was the evidence of Niamh Higgins, who along with being a sister of Lisa Flaherty and a psychiatric nurse, also had training in palliative care. She said she called to the house with her mother Aine Flaherty on the day he died and observed him, keeping notes along the way because of her nursing training.

Evidence had previously been given that Joe Grogan died at about 3pm but Ms Higgins said it was 3.48pm when she noted that she could no longer record a pulse or breath.

She said she was present when Dr Kato advised that an undertaker could be contacted and he would send the report.

Ms Higgins said she believed the appropriate steps for medical intervention were taken that day. She had come to the conclusion that Mr Grogan was “actively dying”.

The inquest had previously heard of a 'No visitors' sign being placed on Mr Grogan's door in the weeks before he died and Lisa Flaherty said that occasionally it had been put up because of the risk of infection.

Ms Flaherty's conduct was strongly defended by her barrister Mr Byrne who said she was the person who “stepped up to the plate” when Joe Grogan needed care and if his family wished to do so, they could have called a doctor themselves. Padraig Grogan had said his cousin did not want to die but Lisa Flaherty stated on a number of occasions that her husband thought he was going to die from cancer.

Or as Mr Byrne put it: “He knew his own body, and he knew he was not going to beat this.”

Coroner Raymond Mahon rejected calls from Mr Tansey and Mr Jones for the matter to be referred to the gardai for further investigation and instead returned a narrative verdict last Tuesday (July 15) that on the balance of probability Mr Grogan's death was likely caused by an infection, due to his immune system being compromised by his chemo therapy.

Meanwhile, site preparations (pictured below) are continuing for this year's Ploughing, just yards from where Joe Grogan breathed his last.

Mr Grogan had opened his land to the public during the Covid-19 pandemic and a path in the fields near his home remains a popular trail for walkers.

This September for three days it will bear the weight of hundreds of thousands as the National Ploughing takes place there for the fourth time.