Charlie O’Connor: ‘I saw my son the evening he died. I thought he was fine’

One year on, former TD talks of son Robert’s death from an accidental drug overdose

It's a year ago this weekend since the son of Fianna Fáil councillor and former TD Charlie O'Connor died from an accidental drug overdose.

Robert O’Connor, who was a young actor, was found dead on April 19th last year at a property in Rialto in Dublin.

Mr O’Connor said his son had been struggling with alcohol dependency throughout his adult life and had taken heroin on the night of his death.

He said: “The week he died he was in good form. I took him to lunch on the Tuesday. He was interviewed out in college in Dún Laoghaire for a further year in the business course.

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“He was in good form, I saw him the evening he died. I thought he was fine. When I didn’t hear from him for a day or so, it did not panic me in the sense that he often did that. There was no panic. His death shocked me.”

Robert (35), who had one child , had worked in Leinster House with his father, who represented Dublin South West in the Dáil at the time.

Mr O’Connor said he missed his son every day but was determined to play his part in the fight against drugs.

He said: “I think about him all the time. I carry his picture with me all the time. He was one good-looking fella who didn’t take after me in terms of the good looks.

“When he worked with me in Leinster House, he was so popular.

“When he died, I got so many calls from people, including from the top, who knew him.

“It is important for me to keep a routine and I continue to make the contributions that need to be made.”

The councillor said the first step in forming a strategy to tackle the problem should be the appointment of a minister for drugs and alcohol.

Mr O’Connor said: “This is not a party political point. I have a lot of time for Leo Varadkar and what he is trying to do, but he is just too busy to be minister for drugs.

“Look at all the other issues he has to deal with. We should have a dedicated section in the department to deal with the drugs.”