Flight attendant sues Dolores’s estate over alleged ‘air-rage’ case
A flight attendant caught up in an alleged air-rage incident five years ago which saw Cranberries lead singer Dolores O’Riordan removed from an Aer Lingus plane is proceeding with a damages claim against the deceased singer’s estate.
Carmel Coyne, of Cappagh Road, Co Galway, is also suing Aer Lingus over the incident on November 10, 2014.
The High Court personal injury proceedings were initiated in early 2017.
On Monday, Tadhg Dorgan BL, for Ms Coyne, applied to the court for orders amending the title of the case so as to allow it be brought against the personal representatives of the singer’s estate.
Counsel told Mr Justice Charles Meenan that the personal representatives had informed his solicitor they would consent to the amendment order.
Granting the application, the judge made orders replacing O’Riordan’s name in the title with that of the personal representatives – Peter J O’Riordan, of Kilmallock, Limerick, and Nollaig Hogan, of Glin, Co Limerick.
In an affidavit grounding the application, Emma Colleran, of Michael Houlihan & Partners, solicitor for Ms Coyne, said the case arose out of an incident on November 10, 2014, when Ms Coyne was a senior cabin crew member on a long-haul Aer Lingus flight from New York to Shannon.
O’Riordan was a passenger on that flight and it is alleged she deliberately caused injury to Ms Coyne by stamping on her foot and physically attacking her and by restricting her liberty and/or freedom of movement.
Ms Coyne claimed damages against the singer for alleged assault, battery, false imprisonment and for breach of Ms Coyne’s right to privacy and to earn a living.
It is claimed, as a result of the incident, Ms Coyne was out of work for seven months.
In a defence delivered in July 2017, O’Riordan, a mother of three, had denied the claims.
On January 15, 2018, 46-year-old O’Riordan was found dead in a bath in a hotel room in London.
An inquest later concluded she drowned in the bath while intoxicated with alcohol.
The coroner, Shirley Radcliffe, said what happened “seems to be solely a tragic accident”.
O’Riordan was being treated successfully for bipolar affective disorder and there was no evidence she was feeling suicidal, the coroner said.
Just last week, it was announced that a new music bursary would be established in memory of the late rock star.
The €4,000 bursary was launched by Limerick City and County Council in association with Dolores’s family.
Her mother Eileen O’Riordan said she was delighted that Limerick would honour Dolores in this imaginative way.
“It’s my hope that the Dolores O’Riordan Music Bursary will allow a musician to follow their dreams,” she said.
The bursary will go towards costs relating to the production of a specific body of new artistic work, improving musical knowledge through any research or short-term courses or mentoring or towards development of a website.
The closing date for applications, which are available from www.limerick.ie, is Thursday, October 31.