Family issues drugs plea as son dies after house party

The family of a young Waterford man who died after taking drugs at a party has issued a plea to people "young and old who may be tempted to dabble in potentially lethal substances to simply say No!"

Kevin Doyle (21), one of two men who became critically ill after a house party nine days ago, died yesterday afternoon at Waterford Regional Hospital. The second man, John Grey (23), remains in a "critical condition".

Mr Doyle had been in a coma and on life support since being transferred to hospital by ambulance last Sunday week. It is understood that life support was switched off shortly before noon and he died, surrounded by family members, about an hour later. A postmortem will take place later today.

The Doyle family described Kevin as "a dearly loved son, brother and grandson" and said they were "totally devastated by his tragic death". They confirmed that he had recently recovered from "life-threatening cancer" in a "heroic manner".

Talking about the danger of taking drugs, the family said: "We sincerely hope that no family has to suffer the pain and anguish that we are going through. . . No amount of so-called fun is worth the loss of life that so often befalls young people in Ireland today."

John Halligan, a community activist and a Workers' Party councillor on Waterford City Council, said last night: "This terrible tragedy is a wake-up call to everybody in Waterford and Ireland that drugs will kill you".

He said the use of drugs at "session houses" meant "it was inevitable that a tragedy like this would happen".

He added it was well known that there were "session houses" throughout Waterford city where "groups of men, women and young guys" went to consume a "mix of drugs and excessive alcohol after a night in a pub".

Cllr Halligan added that these were "not just in local authority housing estates" - such as Ballybeg - but could also be found in "private, middle-income estates". He has called for much tougher action by the Garda to deal with criminal gangs who are importing and distributing illegal drugs.

Mr Doyle had met members of the Grey family, apparently for the first time, in a city centre pub and accepted an invitation to return to their house in Ballybeg for a party. During the early hours of Sunday morning a number of people became extremely ill after taking drugs.

Mr Grey's mother, Betty, has described how her son John had run down the stairs to say that Kevin Doyle had collapsed in an upstairs room before he collapsed himself.

The emergency services were called and a total of 15 people subsequently attended the emergency department at Waterford Regional Hospital. The other 13 people were later discharged.