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| An elderly woman plunged to her death after slipping while cleaning her windows. |
Elderly woman dies after fall while cleaning windows: The 82-year-old was understood to be washing a window sill at her fourth-floor flat in inner city Dublin at the time. Witnesses who saw the incident at Avondale House on North Cumberland Street called the emergency services. Gardai said they were alerted to the accident at around 9pm last night. The pensioner, believed to have fallen on to bark cuttings but who sustained serious injuries, was rushed to the Mater Hospital. But she later died from her wounds. Gardaí said the matter was being treated as a sudden death. While a report is being prepared for the coroner, there is no separate Garda investigation into the incident.
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| Sarah Theelin (82), plunged to her death in Dublin's inner city last night while cleaning a window of her fourth floor apartment. |
Tributes pour for OAP who fell to her death cleaning windows: An elderly woman plunged to her death in Dublin's inner city last night while cleaning a window of her fourth floor apartment. Sarah Theelin (82) was in the process of washing her window on North Cumberland Street at 8.30pm when the tragic incident took place. Known affectionately as Sadie to her family, the woman lived in the flat at Avondale House alone following the death of her husband. The pensioner, who is believed to have fallen into the park area surrounding the complex, was rushed to Mater Hospital, but later died.
Sarah, who hails from a large family of nine girls and four boys, was fondly remembered by her family, who described their shock. Tragically, the Dublin native had just returned from her sister’s nearby flat and was still wearing her jacket. “I can't believe it, I am still in shock,” Sarah's youngest sister Catherine said. “We had asked her to stay with us many times, but she liked living in her own flat with memories of her husband and they had no children.”
It is believed that the 82-year-old had moved a chair across to the window and stood up on it in an attempt to clean bird droppings from the glass using a cloth on a stick. She then lost her balance. “We are very surprised that she even made it up on the chair because she was crippled with arthritis,” explained Catherine. “We are all just devastated, she as a great sister and we were very close.”
Several neighbours told the Irish Independent how they heard the pensioner's cries for help as she desperately clung on to the window-ledge. Neighbour Stephen McCluskey (66) said he saw Mrs Phelan "hang on for about five seconds" before falling. "She was hanging on with one hand and I could see her getting weaker and weaker. She shouted, 'help, help' and then I started screaming for help and trying to get other people's attention but there was nothing I could do," he said. "I could see her panicking and I saw her try to put her right (hand) on the window-ledge as she held on with her left, but she was just too weak to support herself."
Mary McDonnell, who lived directly across from Mrs Phelan, also saw her fall to her death, with her daughter's friend Cameron Byrne (13). "I saw her coming down after she shouted out. She hit the ground and kind of bounced back up again for a second. Then we all ran out to her to see if we could do anything for her. "People said not to touch her because she was on her side in the recovery position," Mary said. One neighbour attempted to give the 82-year-old CPR while waiting for the emergency services to respond.
Mrs Phelan was revived for a time and taken to the nearby Mater Hospital. Mrs Phelan, who was described as a "cleanaholic" and "a devout Catholic", worked as a cleaner with CIE for over 50 years. She had lived all her life in the Avondale House flats and several family members also live there, including her niece and carer Audrey Teeling, who was the first on the scene. "She was always cleaning and couldn't pass a piece of dirt without picking it up," Audrey said.
North inner city councillor Christy Burke today paid tribute to the woman who he described as “very respected in the community”. “She was a lovely, low-key lady and is a very sad loss to the area,” Christy told the Herald. “She was a highly respected senior citizen and was very involved in the community and the type that everyone would know. “The north inner city community is deeply saddened by the loss and she will be missed,” he added. Witnesses who saw the incident at Avondale House on North Cumberland Street called the emergency services. But Sarah was pronounced dead at approximately 9pm. Gardaí said the matter was being treated as a sudden death. While a report is being prepared for the coroner, there is no separate Garda investigation into the incident.
Sarah, who hails from a large family of nine girls and four boys, was fondly remembered by her family, who described their shock. Tragically, the Dublin native had just returned from her sister’s nearby flat and was still wearing her jacket. “I can't believe it, I am still in shock,” Sarah's youngest sister Catherine said. “We had asked her to stay with us many times, but she liked living in her own flat with memories of her husband and they had no children.”
It is believed that the 82-year-old had moved a chair across to the window and stood up on it in an attempt to clean bird droppings from the glass using a cloth on a stick. She then lost her balance. “We are very surprised that she even made it up on the chair because she was crippled with arthritis,” explained Catherine. “We are all just devastated, she as a great sister and we were very close.”
Several neighbours told the Irish Independent how they heard the pensioner's cries for help as she desperately clung on to the window-ledge. Neighbour Stephen McCluskey (66) said he saw Mrs Phelan "hang on for about five seconds" before falling. "She was hanging on with one hand and I could see her getting weaker and weaker. She shouted, 'help, help' and then I started screaming for help and trying to get other people's attention but there was nothing I could do," he said. "I could see her panicking and I saw her try to put her right (hand) on the window-ledge as she held on with her left, but she was just too weak to support herself."
Mary McDonnell, who lived directly across from Mrs Phelan, also saw her fall to her death, with her daughter's friend Cameron Byrne (13). "I saw her coming down after she shouted out. She hit the ground and kind of bounced back up again for a second. Then we all ran out to her to see if we could do anything for her. "People said not to touch her because she was on her side in the recovery position," Mary said. One neighbour attempted to give the 82-year-old CPR while waiting for the emergency services to respond.
Mrs Phelan was revived for a time and taken to the nearby Mater Hospital. Mrs Phelan, who was described as a "cleanaholic" and "a devout Catholic", worked as a cleaner with CIE for over 50 years. She had lived all her life in the Avondale House flats and several family members also live there, including her niece and carer Audrey Teeling, who was the first on the scene. "She was always cleaning and couldn't pass a piece of dirt without picking it up," Audrey said.
North inner city councillor Christy Burke today paid tribute to the woman who he described as “very respected in the community”. “She was a lovely, low-key lady and is a very sad loss to the area,” Christy told the Herald. “She was a highly respected senior citizen and was very involved in the community and the type that everyone would know. “The north inner city community is deeply saddened by the loss and she will be missed,” he added. Witnesses who saw the incident at Avondale House on North Cumberland Street called the emergency services. But Sarah was pronounced dead at approximately 9pm. Gardaí said the matter was being treated as a sudden death. While a report is being prepared for the coroner, there is no separate Garda investigation into the incident.
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