Shock as second young boy suffers cardiac death

A FAMILY and rural community in Co Tyrone is in mourning after a 10-year-old boy died on the pitch during Gaelic football training on Tuesday night.

Patrick Breen from Drumquin, near Omagh, is the second young victim of sudden cardiac death in two days.

Patrick’s death came hours after a 16-year-old boy died in school in Co Meath. Tony Parker collapsed at the Moate Community School just before a physical education class.

Patrick Breen’s parents Frankie and Jackie Breen, his sister and four brothers are said to be numb as they try to come to terms with the unexpected death.

Patrick was training with the under-13 team at the Michael Cusack Club on Tuesday night when the incident happened.

“He just collapsed onto the ground, that’s the only way to describe it. There was no evidence at all of trauma or a knock out. There was no bashing or banging. He wasn’t tackled,” said the club’s youth officer Noel Donnelly.

A qualified first aid person was on site and a defibrillator was deployed. Minutes later a doctor and nurse arrived at the scene and an ambulance followed shorty afterwards.

Patrick was taken to Erne Hospital in Enniskillen and put on a life support machine, before he died at 10pm.

A postmortem on the boy’s body is expected to take place today, and he will be buried on Saturday.

“He was a vibrant, healthy lad and he enjoyed football and loved the craic. It’s incomprehensible that a young boy could just collapse and pass away so quickly at any time or anywhere,” said Mr Donnelly.

Parish priest Fr Colum O’Doherty said: “The parents are numb. It’s a scene of complete unreality. They don’t know what to do.”

It was the third tragedy to hit the family. Patrick’s cousin Mark Breen also died suddenly at the same age while on his way to school in September 1999. His other cousin was killed in a road accident when she was just 16.

He lived at Dregish and was a pupil at the tiny Envagh Primary School where classmates were trying to come to terms with his loss.

Principal Orla Duffy said: “We are all in total shock, we are a small school with only 25 pupils. Everyone is devastated.

“I have been Patrick’s teacher for the last three years. He was so popular with everybody and loved by everybody.

“He lived for his football and played for the school team.”