A teenager who was not a regular drug user played "Russian roulette" and died after taking 'bombs' of ecstasy at the Indiependence music festival in Mitchelstown, Co Cork, an inquest has heard.
Coroner Philip Comyn presided over the inquest of 19-year-old Jack Downey of Ard Chaoin in Clonmel, Co Tipperary, who passed away on 5 August 2019 three days after taking the drug.
Mr Comyn told an inquest in Cork that the death was a tragedy that occurred when Mr Downey, like many youths of his age, decided to "dabble" with drugs.
"Jack was not a regular drug user. Young people of today have such opportunities in front of them but they also have greater opportunities to take these drugs. There is no such thing as a safe illicit street drug," Mr Comyn said.
He described such deaths as occurring because of "Russian roulette" with people taking illicit drugs with no idea of what drug dealers have used to make them.
Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster carried out a postmortem on the teenager.
She said Mr Downey died of organ failure with hyperthermia following the ingestion of ecstasy and morphine. A contributory factor was aspiration pneumonia.
Dr Bolster emphasised that Mr Downey would have lapsed in to a coma and that no suffering would have taken place. She warned that people never know how they are going to react to taking to ecstasy or any illicit street drug.
A number of youths who were at the campsite when Mr Downey became ill gave statements to gardaí. One friend said that they had collected the rock of ecstasy in Tipperary before they travelled to Cork.
He said the group were not used to taking to ecstasy and had bought over seven grams for €200 which they divided among a group of six. The friend reported that Mr Downey started taking the ecstasy early in the afternoon on the first day of the concert on 2 August.
'Shakes were vicious'
He noted that he started "shaking and sweating". Mr Downey took another few bombs of ecstasy and "panic began to set in" among his friends.
"He was shaking a lot. The shakes were vicious. We were just around him in a shock not knowing what to do," the friend said.
The friends placed Mr Downey in a tent. When his condition worsened, he was seen by paramedics and taken by ambulance to hospital.
Det Sgt James O'Shea thanked the friends of Mr Downey for their assistance with the criminal investigation.
CCTV was taken from the campsite and numerous statements were taken. A file was sent to the DPP. However, no prosecution arose.
Det Sgt O’Shea said that it was a "desperate tragedy". A verdict of misadventure was recorded in the case. Both gardaí and the coroner extended their sympathy to Mr Downey’s family. He is survived by his parents Elaine and Johnny.
Such was his popularity that his removal and funeral mass in Clonmel involved the attendance of thousands of people. He lay in repose at Clonmel Óg Hurling and Football Club.
At the funeral, Johnny Downey, who is a garda in Clonmel, urged his son’s friends and loved ones to watch out for each other.
"There is no blame. He will be missed - his friends are now to look after each other and not forget."
Following his death, his parents spoke to Brendan O'Connor on RTÉ Radio.
They urged parents to talk to their children about drugs, saying that it is a problem that affects everyone regardless of class.
Mr Downey said that he never thought they would lose their son in this manner.
"These are young smart, educated people who think they're invincible. There is no class to it. We're afraid to ask the question of our own, because we are in a bubble and we think it is not going to happen to our own. We need to cop on."
