• Five family members drowned when their Audi Q7 jeep car slid off Buncrana Pier
• Vehicle then plunged into waters of Lough Swilly in Donegal, north west Ireland
• Sean McGrotty, 46, and his sons Mark, 11 and Evan, eight, were killed in tragedy
• His mother-in-law Ruth Daniels and her teenage daughter Jodie-Lee Tracey also died
• Inquest told Mr McGrotty's reading was 159ml per 100ml of blood – limit is 50ml
• Mr McGrotty's baby girl Rionaghac-Ann was saved by local man Davitt Walsh, 28

By Stephen Maguire and Steph Cockroft for MailOnline

Published: 08:09 EST, 22 November 2017 | Updated: 11:05 EST, 22 November 2017

A father who perished in a sinking car alongside his two sons, mother-in-law and sister-in-law was more than three times the legal drink-drive limit when the vehicle slid down a slipway and into the water.

Sean McGrotty, 46, was behind the wheel of his Audi Q7 jeep when it slipped off a pier in Buncrana, Donegal, and sunk beneath the waters of the Lough Swilly.

With him in the car were his sons Mark, 11, and eight-year-old Evan, his mother-in-law Ruth Daniels, 57, and her 14-year-old daughter Jodie-Lee Tracey, all of whom died.

Sean McGrotty (back left) and his sons Mark, 12, and Evan, eight (pictured front) died when the Audi they were in plunged off a pier and into the water. Their baby sister Rionaghac-Ann (pictured with their mother Louise James, who was not involved in the crash) survived

His four-month-old daughter Rionaghac-Ann was the sole survivor after being plucked to safety by a hero bypasser.

Today, at an inquest into the incident, consultant pathologist Dr Katrina Dillon said Mr McGrotty's blood alcohol level was 159ml per 100ml of blood. The legal limit is 50ml.

On cross-examination, Dr Dillon said she could not say how that level of alcohol would have impaired Mr McGrotty.

Davitt Walsh, 28 (pictured today outside the inquest), rescued a four-month-old baby from a sinking car when five other members of her family drowned inside

Earlier, Davitt Walsh, who saved the four-month-old girl from the tragedy, told how he desperately tried to save the newborn's brother as Mr McGrotty shouted: 'Save my baby'.

Mr Walsh had been walking near he pier when he saw the car sinking below the water after having slid off the 'treacherous' slipway.

Without a moment's hesitation, Mr Walsh stripped down to his underwear, diving into the water and swimming towards the vehicle in an attempt to rescue those inside.

As he battled to avert tragedy, Mr Walsh managed to pluck four-month-old Rionaghac-Ann to safety, after Mr McGrotty passed her out through the window.

But today, giving evidence at the inquest, Mr Walsh also described how he also tried to save one of the other children who was screaming for help inside the jeep.

Tragically, as he attempted to haul the boy to safety, the child's foot got caught in the car and the vehicle slipped under the water.

Describing the harrowing ordeal today, Mr Walsh said: 'I reached in and grabbed the wee boy. I tried to pull him out but he seemed to get stuck on something.

'Just as I was trying to pull the wee boy out of the car the water rushed in and I had to let go. I had to let go because I was struggling as hard as I could to avoid getting sucked into the water.

'The father climbed back into the car, looked back and me and said "save my baby". The water gushed in and the car went under the water.'

Ms James's mother Ruth Daniels, 57, (left) and Ms Daniels's teenage daughter Jodie-Lee Tracey, 14, (right) also died

Mr Walsh told the hearing how he was out with his girlfriend Stephanie Knox after playing football for his team Fanad United when she spotted the car in the water.

He jumped into the water and swam out to the jeep, where Mr McGrotty was trying to smash the driver's window with his elbow.

After managing to shatter the pane, Mr McGrotty handed Mr Walsh the little girl as he shouted 'save the baby, save my baby', the inquest heard.

Mr Walsh then took the baby from his hands, giving Mr McGrotty room to sit up onto the driver's window ledge.

'I knew something wasn't right': Woman reveals moment she found out five members of her family had died

The bereft woman who lost her mother, partner, sister and two little boys in the Buncrana drowning tragedy today told an inquest how she knew something was wrong the moment she got a phone call alerting her to the tragedy.

Louise James told the hearing that she had last seen her family on Friday, March 18, when her partner Sean McGrotty and the two boys had left her at a friend's house ahead of a hen weekend in Liverpool.

She was at the airport travelling back from the weekend when the incident took place.

Today, Ms James told the inquest how minutes before the tragedy, she spoke on the phone with her tragic sister Jodi Lee who said the boys were playing in a playpark on the shorefront in Buncrana.

Half an hour later, she received a phonecall from her brother Joshua.

She told the hearing: 'I got a feeling something wasn't right.'

Joshua then told Ms James there had been an incident in Buncrana and that a car had gone into the water, but it was not clear who was in there.

Ms James said she had tried to contact both her partner and her sister but could not reach them.

When she landed in Belfast, she was informed that five members of her family had died.

She travelled to her home in Derry before going to Letterkenny University Hospital to see her surviving child and to identify the bodies of the rest of her family.

As he did so, one of the boys attempted to crawl out and managed to grab Mr Walsh's hand.

But, as Mr Walsh tried to pull him to safety, the child's leg got stuck in the car, causing water to rush into the jeep. The vehicle then sank beneath the water.

Amazingly, Mr Walsh managed to swim 25m back to the pier with the baby held in the air.

When he made it back to the slipway – which was said to be 'treacherous' with algae – he handed the baby to his girlfriend and collapsed with exhaustion.

He said: 'I could hardly breath, I was so tired. A man came and pulled me off the algae. I was freezing and knew I had to get warm.

Mr Walsh – who has since been awarded a gold medal for bravery at sea – suffered cuts to his feet which he was treated for in hospital.

The former footballer said he had been aware that the algae would be slippery, but that a stranger would not have been aware of the dangers.

By the time the RNLI lifesavers reached the scene the Londonderry family's car had disappeared into the water and the victims were floating in the water.

The inquest also heard from Francis Crawford, the first person at the scene.

He told the hearing how he and his wife Kay had parked on the slipway just after 7pm when he saw what he thought was a black people carrier in the water at the bottom of the slipway.

He remarked to his wife that 'there was something badly wrong' and shouted at the person in the car – Mr McGrotty – who shouted at him to get help.

Mr Crawford – who said he could hear children crying inside the car – then dialled 999.

He said Mr Walsh then arrived at the scene and, after asking him if he could swim, he asked Mr Walsh to jump in the water.

He told the inquest: 'The car was floating, bobbing in the water, 10 to 15 yards from the slipway, and slowly floating, bobbing off to the right of the slipway.

The tragic brothers are pictured with their sister, who survived when her father passed her out of the car window to a hero who jumped in the water to try and save them all

Ms James, who was at a hen do in Liverpool when the tragedy took place, is pictured with her baby daughter and son Evan

'I could still hear people and the child screaming from the car, all the time the car must have been taking on water.

'I was hoping that the emergency services would arrive and the car would not go down.'

He added: 'I could hear sirens, the nose of the car dipped… and the car sank to the bottom.'

Mr Crawford had called the Coastguard for help after Sean McGrotty urged him to seek emergency assistance.

The witness said it took 12 minutes for the RNLI to arrive.

Mr Crawford said he continued to hear screaming from those inside but he soon saw Mr Walsh coming back to the slipway with a baby in his arms.

He said Mr Walsh told him that he tried to get another boy out but that his leg had got caught.

Francis Crawford (pictured today outside the hearing), phoned 999 when he saw the car in the water. He told the inquest the car was 'slowly floating, bobbing off to the right of the slipway'

Coroner Dr Denis McCauley (second from right) with Irish Water Safety CEO John Leech (second from left) and Garda Siochana members Inspector David Murphy and Sgt Mark Traynor at Buncrana Pier

He added that he hoped Mr Walsh would be able to return to the water but that he was simply exhausted.

Garda Sergeant Mark Traynor said gardai were on the scene within four or five minutes of the call but by that stage there was no sign of the car.

He said gardai were at the back gate of the station when they received the call.

He added that the RNLI responded within a similar time as its members were returning from an exercise.

He also agreed that the algae was thick and very slippy on the pier and that his colleagues were also very aware of this.

Solicitor for Donegal County Council, Mr Michael Staines, said that almost every pier had algae on it.

During cross examination, Sgt Traynor told the inquest that a file had been prepared on the incident and sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Ms James and her brother Josh are pictured carrying their mother's coffin into the family home

The family died when the car slid off Buncrana Pier and into the waters of Lough Swilly in Donegal (pictured) on March 20 last year

He said the recommendation from the DPP was that nobody was to be prosecuted as a result of the tragedy.

The inquest was told that the gate leading down to the slipway was open at the time and cars were freely allowed to enter onto it.

The jury inquest inn Co Donegal, Ireland, which will hear evidence from 12 witnesses, is expected to last two days.

The inquest, held at the Lake of Shadows Hotel, will also consider a report by Donegal County Council, a report from Water Safety Ireland, a report from the Road Safety Authority and another report from Volkswagen Ireland.

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