Two die after Christmas Day drugs party
The bodies of the men, both Irish and in their early 30s, were taken from the house off the Lower Glanmire Road in the city on Sunday.
It is believed they had taken a cocktail of drugs including heroin and alcohol over the course of a two-day drugs binge.
The first man, aged 33, was pronounced dead at the house at Rockgrove Terrace at 1pm on Christmas Day and was taken to Cork University Hospital where an autopsy was carried out yesterday.
Seven hours later a second man, aged 32 and critically ill, was taken from the same house to the Mercy University Hospital. He died in the early hours of yesterday. Gardaí have no doubt that the deaths are linked.
It is not known if the drug taking stopped after the first body was removed from the house.
People who were at the party were being interviewed by gardaí yesterday. Gardaí have traced nine of the 10 other people there, and a search is continuing for the 10th.
Garda files are to be prepared for the Coroner’s Courts. And, last night, gardaí said “any persons who were present at this gathering are being asked to seek medical attention”.
Toxicology reports on the two dead men are expected to show a mixture of heroin, methadone and alcohol in their system. It is suspected that the men overdosed.
Rockgrove Terrace is about 2km outside Cork city centre, close to Kent Railway Station. Many of the houses have been subdivided into flats and bedsits. A number are used by people being rehoused from homeless shelters.
While a postmortem examination on the first body has already been completed, the second autopsy is due to be carried out early today.
Labour Party city councillor Catherine Clancy said this was “a terrible tragedy for the families of the men, especially at this time of the year”.
“My sympathy goes to them. Everyone has family and these men are somebody’s child or brother.”
Gardaí are appealing for witnesses who were at Rockgrove Terrace on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day to come forward and help them with their ongoing investigations.
They can contact gardaí at Watercourse Road on 021 4558260.
