Dead garda’s family calls for better help for alcoholics

THE family of a former garda found frozen to death in Wales has called for better support for sufferers of alcoholism in both Ireland and Wales.

Patrick Cleary died of hypothermia after being found in a park in Bangor during a spell of cold weather before Christmas.

It emerged during his inquest in Wales that he had battled addiction to alcohol and prescription drugs.

His family told how Mr Cleary had joined the gardaí in 1983, married in 1988 “and was blissfully happy”.

“Unfortunately, his happiness was to be short-lived when he developed the devastating illness of alcoholism. Slowly, his life began to fall apart,” they said in a statement.

Despite seeking treatment from various organisations, he was unable to get his life back on track, separating from his wife a shortly after and taking early retirement from the gardaí.

He met a new partner and moved to Wales.

“It was here he spent his longest period sober, over seven years,” his family said. “Sadly, he never really won his battle with alcohol and he began to have more and more relapses” and “died in his attempt to come home”.

The inquest heard that, after a row at his home in Wales, he threatened to return to Ireland but instead stayed in a B&B.

On the day before he died, he went to a psychiatric unit. But he appeared drunk and the unit did not deal with self-referral. He was told to get in touch with his GP.

He then went to an A&E. The local charge nurse knew him and told him there were limited options to help him there because the waiting times were long.

He was told to come back in the evening to see an out-of-hours GP. Due to the workload the nurse did not notice that he did not return that evening.

The charge nurse was back on duty the next morning, when Mr Cleary was brought in by paramedics, and was able to identify him. He had been found lying in gardens next to a bus station.

The coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death.

Mr Cleary’s family added: “Patrick went looking for help, like so many others, but was turned away. Proper provisions for people with problems such as the like that Pat had, need to put in place, not only in the UK but also in Ireland.”