According to reports in the Irish press, musician Niall Dennehy was rushed to hospital after suffering a water-related accident.
A report in the Irish Evening Echo suggested the accident might have involved a swimming pool while the Irish Journal said “it’s believed Dennehy was injured when he fell into the sea at a marina in Portugal.”
Speaking to The Portugal News on Wednesday this week, a spokesperson for Portimão’s Barlavento Hospital confirmed the 30-year-old Irish musician was still at the unit after being admitted on 10 February and was not expected to be discharged any time in the coming days, though did not comment on his clinical condition.
Dennehy is a drummer and percussionist with the Cork-based jazz and R’n’B group Art Crimes Band, who only recently released their debut album, Radio.
The exact details of the incident are as yet unknown although the musician’s family is understood to have flown to Portugal to be at his side.
The Irish Independent described the incident as a “freak accident” after Dennehy “apparently tripped and fell into the water”, and elaborated the drummer “is understood to have suffered serious head and respiratory injuries.”
The Irish Embassy in Lisbon told The Portugal News it was “aware of the incident” and was “offering consular assistance to an Irish citizen in the Algarve.”
A post on the Cork Musicians Facebook page, set up to highlight Cork’s musical talent, read: “Our prayers & thoughts are with Niall Dennehy from The Art Crime Band who is in hospital in Portugal after a fall. We wish him a speedy recovery.”
Quoted in the Evening Echo last weekend, Niall’s father Con Dennehy, a well-known publican from Cork, said his son was “improving” and he hoped to travel back to Ireland with him sometime this week.
“It will be a long, slow road and we do not know exactly when we will be back, but we’re hopeful,” he said.