Coroner: alcohol-related deaths in women ‘alarming’

A CO MAYO coroner has described as “alarming” the growing number of alcohol-related deaths in young women.

Dr Eleanor Fitzgerald, a coroner in North Mayo, said of the inquests she attended last year, approximately 50% of the deaths were alcohol related.

“If these were diseases such as asthma or cancer there would be an outcry,” she said. Dr Fitzgerald, speaking at the AGM of the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) in Killarney, Co Kerry, was discussing a motion calling for alcohol detoxification units.