No inquest will be held into the death of a man found fatally injured outside a fast food outlet in the centre of Belfast just over two years ago.
But the mother of Gareth Rynne has received what she describes as a comprehensive report from the coroner into the death of the 39-year-old Dubliner.
Paula Rynne was also comforted to know a toxicology report found her only child had no illegal drugs in his system when he was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital after he was found unconscious outside the McDonalds outlet on Donegall Place.
He had consumed a significant amount of alcohol prior to being fatally injured in August, 2022.
Mr Rynne died after suffering from subdural hematoma where blood collects between the skull and surface of the brain but where there are no fractures. It is caused by severe head trauma often occurring from incidents such as car accidents, falls or assaults.
A murder investigation was launched after Mr Rynne’s death. Following a police investigation one person was charged in connection with the events leading up to Mr Rynne being found by the Welcome organisation and admission to hospital. Members of the Welcome organisation brought him to hospital.
In February, 29-year-old Dylan Quaile, with an address in Maguiresbridge in Co Fermanagh, pleaded guilty to common assault of Mr Rynne on Callender Street behind Marks and Spencers in the early hours of Sunday August 14. He was fined £200.
Police and prosecutors were unable to directly link the assault to Mr Rynne’s injuries or death as there was no CCTV footage of Mr Rynne in the three hours between when the assault happened and his discovery outside McDonalds.
Mrs Rynne said the coroner’s report was “absolutely comprehensive” and that she is resigned to not having an inquest.
“I am kind of processing it. I have to come around myself and decide nothing is going to bring him back,” she added. “The police investigation was as thorough as it could have been.”
Quaile claimed not to even remember being on Callender Street due to consuming a combination of alcohols and medications but admitted he was the person caught on camera in the company of Mr Rynne.
“I am not going to wish him the best,” said Mrs Rynne. “He has a life that my son does not have. I am indifferent to him and he is not going to have any impact on the rest of my life.”
Mr Rynne was a member of a large extended family originally from Drumcondra in north Dublin. His mother was one of 12 siblings and he had people across the capital and in Co Clare.
From an early age he was troubled and began to drink, then take drugs. He also had some mental health issues.
Mr Rynne had never been to Belfast before travelling north from Dublin in early July, about six weeks before his death. The police investigation found that he and Quaile had met each other a number of times over those weeks.
While Mrs Rynne has resigned herself to the fact there will be no inquest, she does have one request of the authorities in the north. “I would like to have his clothes back,” she said.
