A woman who drowned after going for a swim at a favourite beach has been recalled as ‘a lovely lady and a wonderful artist’. Patrick O’Connor, coroner for the District of Mayo, made the comments after opening an inquest at Swinford Courthouse into the death of Cathy Hughes. Despite efforts to save her, the artist and grandmother, who was in her 60s, died in a drowning accident at Old Head beach, Louisburgh on July 21.
At a brief hearing on Monday, the medical cause of her death was given as asphyxia due to drowning. Ms Hughes’s mother was Maura Kelly, a cousin of world-famous actress Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco, whose grandfather, John Kelly, emigrated from Newport to the US in the late 1800s. Mr O’Connor said: ‘On the day of the All-Ireland hurling final, Cathy went for a swim.
‘Whatever happened, she died from asphyxia due to drowning.’ The coroner expressed his deepest sympathy to her son, William, and daughter, Isabelle, her grandchildren and the wider Hughes family ‘on the loss of a lovely lady and a talented artist’. No other evidence was given, and the substantive inquest hearing was adjourned to a later date when additional evidence will be available.
A post mortem was carried out at Mayo University Hospital following her death. Ms Hughes had been living in Salthill, Galway City but grew up in Westport. She was a regular visitor to Old Head where she enjoyed swimming.
Born in the late 1950s, she had been involved in the Irish arts and crafts since she was a child – one of a family of 13. Maura Kelly specialised in Irish antiques and began the worldrenowned Irish craft and knitwear business, Carraig Donn Industries. In recent online material to promote her business, Ms Hughes was described as an abstract artist who works with mixed media in oils and acrylics.
The website continued: ‘As I was reared in the west of Ireland, mainly Westport and Galway, I was inspired by the beauty of my surroundings and from a very young age have been involved in painting.’ Ms Hughes’s art graces many private collections, including that of Prince Albert of Monaco. At her funeral, her sister Anne McGovern said Ms Hughes had ‘sparkled in company’ and was at her happiest ‘with a glass of champagne in her hand’.
She said her sister was simply ‘fun to be with’, loved the good things in life and ‘had excellent style and taste’. She particularly enjoyed swimming, fly fishing, reading, travelling and ‘walking the prom’, mourners were told. Her coffin was laid against a backdrop of her art including her painting Magical Maldives, which was inspired by her memories of snorkelling in the warm waters there.
Ms McGovern said the day her sister died began as many others did. She went to Mass and then packed to return to her home in Galway, which she intended to do after a swim at Old Head. She said: ‘Cathy, unfortunately, was found at the water’s edge a few hours later.
Still alive, first responders worked on her until there was no more hope.’ She recalled spending the previous Saturday with her sister, a beautiful day during which they ‘walked, sang, swam and ate lovely sandwiches at the beach’. In particular, the two sang the chorus of John Denver’s song Today, she said, recalling the lyric: ‘Ere I forget all the joy that is mine, today.
’ She added: ‘Little did we realise how meaningful those words were to become on Cathy’s last full day on this earth,’ she said. Despite being one of a family of 13 and ‘number eight’, Ms Hughes was always the ‘centre of attention’ and was known as ‘Chatty Cathy’ while at school, her sister said. Tragedy had struck Ms Hughes when Maura, one of her three children, died at the age of 30, and once her son William and daughter Isabelle were independent, she turned to her art.
Her sister added: ‘Over the last number of years, Cathy has produced some beautiful works. Many of us are the proud owners of those now treasured gifts.’ She wished to be known as ‘CC’ by her four young grandchildren whom she ‘adored unconditionally’.
Her sister added: ‘It’s sad to realise those children will never now get to know CC, the CC we all know, the warm, vibrant, religious, glamorous, elegant granny..
