A MAN drank up to 10 measures of spirits in one go during a “drinking game” on the night of his birthday and later died of acute alcoholic poisoning, a court has heard.
The circumstances surrounding the death of Graham Parish (26), from Lancashire in England, were outlined at yesterday’s opening of a trial of two bar workers accused of manslaughter.
Bar manager at Hayes’s Hotel in Thurles Gary Wright (34) and barman Aidan Dalton (28) – both with addresses at Kilfithmone, Borrisoleigh, Co Tipperary – are charged with the unlawful killing of Mr Parish.
The two men, who have pleaded not guilty to the charges, were working in the bar of the hotel where Mr Parish was staying on the night of June 30th, 2008.
Nenagh Circuit Court was told by Patrick McCarthy SC, prosecuting, that the accused men committed manslaughter because of “gross negligence” and failing in their “duty of care” to patrons of the hotel.
Mr Parish, a father of two from Lancashire in England, was celebrating his birthday in Hayes’s Hotel on the night of June 30th after arriving in Ireland that afternoon for a work project.
The court heard he started drinking in Hayes’s Hotel at about 6pm and was subsequently joined by five work colleagues. After an evening in which they “drank heavily”, according to Mr McCarthy, a vodka was put into Mr Parish’s pint, and then two vodkas in his next pint of beer.
“He said he could down 10 spirits in a pint glass before they could down their pint or half-pint.” That was sometime after 10 pm. The barman poured the drink, “the manager gave the okay for the purposes of serving the drink” and Mr Parish then downed it in one go. Shortly afterwards, he slumped from his bar stool and was carried upstairs by his colleagues and left to sleep in a conference room.
Night porter at the hotel Philip Mahony gave evidence of checking on Mr Parish at about 6am – after checking a number of times earlier – and, after tapping him on the shoulder and getting no response, he found there was no pulse. He then saw vomit on Mr Parish’s lip and called the Garda.
Mr Parish was pronounced dead at 7.15am.
Wayne Doubtfire, who worked for Reliant Insulation with Mr Parish and had also travelled over from England, said he remembered Mr Parish suggesting that, if they wanted to have “a serious drinking game”, he could drink “a pint of spirits” quicker than one of the other people present could drink a pint of Guinness. They each bought a measure of spirits and the barman put the drinks into a glass, he said.
Another colleague, Marcus Ludwell, said he told gardaí the morning afterwards that the measures were doubles.
The trial continues today.