The one in Ireland (which went into the peat bog) was definitely not in any way related to the IMCR.
If the pilot had an IMCR (maybe he did; I have no idea) and was actually exercising its privileges, he would have not hit the ground because he would have flown at/above the MSA, and landed on an instrument approach - just as he had been trained to do
I am assuming the IMCR is valid in N Ireland.
What was the Mooney one?