‘I don’t want to die like Josef’

The best friend of the late homeless man Josef Pavelka, who came to national attention because they both had to sleep in a public toilet, said Josef was his fourth friend to die from drinking too much alcohol “and I don’t want to be the fifth to die from drinking”.

Speaking outside St Peter & Paul Cathedral in Ennis yesterday, 36-year-old Polish man Piotr Baram said: “Today, I am feeling bad, bad, very bad. I cry to myself only — not in a public place — about Josef. He is my best friend and he is gone.

“We were together every day from 7am until 10 at night. We never argued. I miss him very much.”

Mr Baram said he wants to see Josef’s body “to say goodbye”.

The body of Mr Pavelka, 52, was found in a laneway behind the local Supermacs outlet on Ennis’s O’Connell St at 11.30pm on Saturday. An autopsy was conducted at Mid-Western Regional Hospital yesterday but gardaí said results would not be released, pending toxicology results.

The Czech man came to national prominence last month when it emerged in court that both he and Mr Baram were living in public toilets in Ennis.

District Court judge Patrick Durcan described the situation as a “scandal” and said last week the two had attained “celebrity status” in Ennis as a result of the attention to their plight.

Friends yesterday left bouquets of flowers at the place where Mr Pavelka’s body was found.

Mr Baram said yesterday that he would like to get treatment for his alcohol addiction.

The St Vincent de Paul, in consultation with other agencies, provided the two with emergency accommodation at a tourist hostel in Galway last month and Mr Baram confirmed that after their return to Ennis, “myself and Josef were drinking much more as people gave us drink and money we used to buy drink”.

Mr Baram would not say where he was sleeping last night or tonight in case the local gardaí would find out. He said he doesn’t know if he will remain in Ennis, but doesn’t wish to return to Poland for family reasons.

Anthony McDonagh of local Homeless Education and Learning Project (HELP) said: “Josef’s death could have been avoided, if there was more a hands-on response to his situation.”

Through his work with HELP, Mr McDonagh had known Josef for a number of years and said: “Josef was a magic human being. He was a lovely person — very warm, kind and empathetic.”

Mr McDonagh said that the response by the statutory agencies to Josef’s situation “was confused and there was a lack of communication between people at the front line and those higher up”.

Ennis Garda are liaising with Interpol to make contact with Mr Pavelka’s family concerning the repatriation of his body home.