Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra’s yacht death: The $50m lawsuit and her family’s unanswered questions

At around midnight on August 5 2025, the lifeless body of Irish woman Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra was discovered on a boat docked at a marina in the exclusive Montauk Yacht Club in the US. Originally from Co Carlow, the 33-year-old entrepreneur had moved to New York ten years previously and was forging a successful career in sunglasses and swimwear design.

Earlier that evening, Martha had arranged to meet with millionaire investor Christopher Durnan to discuss how her business was going. In an interview last year, Durnan’s lawyer claimed that his client told police that Martha suddenly went limp between 10.30pm and 11pm and that he thought she was having a heart attack.

According to witnesses, Durnan was seen at around midnight, running naked through the marina, screaming for help. On the first anniversary of Martha’s tragic death, her family filed a wrongful death proceedings for $50 million against Christopher Durnan.

Their lawyers have stated that the results of an independent postmortem examination commissioned by the Nolan family is at odds with the one carried out by the state of New York and their summons is seeking damages for wrongful death and for the personal injuries and conscious pain and suffering that Martha sustained before her death.

On Tuesday, legal filings made on Mr Duran’s behalf revealed that James E Mercante, of New York law firm Gallo Vitucci Klar, will be appearing as his lawyer in the case.

Mr Mercante specialises in commercial and recreational admiralty consultation and litigation, marine insurance coverage, transportation disputes, arbitration and appeals.

The New York City-based maritime lawyer has handled such high-profile cases as the sinking of the Kandi Won in Oyster Bay, New York, on July 4, 2012, in which three children drowned, and the 2014 case in which a powerboat struck a barge moored at the Tappan Zee Bridge on the Hudson River in New York, killing two people.

Lawyers for Ms Nolan-O’Slatarra’s family filed a “Summons with Notice” in New York County on three weeks ago on August 4, seeking damages for “wrongful death” as well as damages for the “personal injuries and conscious pain and suffering” she sustained before her death.

According to court documents, the actions arise from events that took place on August 4 and 5 last year aboard a vessel docked at the Star Island Yacht Club at 32 Star Island Road in Montauk, New York.

Today on The Indo Daily, Catherine Fegan , Special Correspondent for the Irish Independent, joins Tessa Fleming to discuss the latest developments in the case.

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This podcast description was edited on 1pm on Thursday August 27th to include details regarding the boat accident specialist. This is not featured in the podcast discussion, however.

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