Possible drug link to death of father, 24
Paul Byrne, 24, and a father of a nine-month-old baby, died at his parents’ home early on Monday morning.
He was discovered by his father, who immediately alerted the emergency services. His family confirmed that gardaí were investigating the suspicion that his death could have been linked to cocaine.
His father John said his son seemed fine when he went to bed but that he had then discovered his dead body on Monday evening after he failed to wake up earlier in the day.
He described his son as a normal young man who had a big interest in fitness.
One Garda source said yesterday the death was thought to be linked with drugs, possibly cocaine.
“A postmortem is being carried out today and we will await the results of that,” the spokesman said.
If confirmed as cocaine-related, it will be the fourth death linked to the drug in the past fortnight.
Meanwhile, a young man in Longford was rushed to hospital in an incident gardaí suspect may also be related to drugs.
The 26-year-old was found collapsed in his apartment on Saturday afternoon after attending a Christmas party the previous night.
He was found by a family member and taken to Longford-Westmeath Regional Hospital.
