Priest: Dealers less than human

A priest officiating at the funeral of a young man who is believed to have died as a result of taking a lethal form of ecstasy has condemned drug-dealers as “less than human” and “purveyors of grief and doom”.

Mourners at the requiem Mass for Liam Coffey, aged 22, who was found dead along with his friend Michael Coleman in Kinsale, Co Cork, on Sunday, heard that “ordinary, decent people” regard those who supplied drugs to young people with “contempt”.

Fr Robert Arthure pleaded with any young person listening to stay away from drugs, telling the ceremony in Affane, outside Cappoquin in Co Waterford, that while the results of Liam’s autopsy have not yet been published, “all the available evidence” pointed towards drugs.

“But for those who supply drugs, and none of them is here, let one small voice from West Waterford say this morning, to anybody likely to be listening to it or to write it, to express the contempt in which ordinary decent people hold you, the purveyors of grief and ruin.

“At the end of your life, whether it be long or short, the lives of those who you have ruined will rise up to haunt you. And when you’re coming before the throne of Christ to meet the Christ who made all these lovely young people, the eyes of those you have ruined will be on you and there will be no place to hide. If that is the legacy you want to make of your life, then you’re less than human.”

Liam’s parents Richard and Fionnuala, and twin sisters Tina and Bree, heard Fr Arthure describe Liam as a “friendly, trusting boy who came from a loving family”, who was looking forward to starting a course in Cork Institute of Technology after spending the past few years “perhaps trying to find himself and trying to find a place in the world”.

The priest had known Liam all his life and drew laughter from the hundreds of mourners when he recalled being in the boys’ school 16 years ago, when the then six-year-old asked him if there was any way he could “speed up the Mass”.

Fr Arthure said his heart sank when he heard the news of Liam’s death.

“I say not one word of criticism or condemnation of Liam Coffey or his friend Michael Coleman, not one word. But I say this to any young person who may be willing to listen: For the sake of the God who made you and who loves you, for the sake of your family who care about you, for your own sake because there’s so much goodness in you and we have such high hopes for you — don’t start to take any drug.”

He urged all not to listen to the words of any “glib, smooth-talking person” who said everyone was taking drugs. “They’re not, and you have enough goodness in you and happiness and cheerfulness in your heart to be able to enjoy yourself anywhere without being stoned.”

After the Mass in the Church of St John the Baptist, Affane, Liam was laid to rest in the adjoining cemetery. His friend Michael Coleman was buried on Wednesday after funeral Mass in Abbeyside, Dungarvan.