Three separate young male suicides were the subject of inquests at the Dublin City Coroner's Court yesterday.
One inquest heard that the father of a 24-year-old man dropped him in the city centre for an aptitude test for a job. He left without completing the test. A short time later he was seen removing all his clothing and jumping into the Liffey.
A post-mortem showed that death was due to drowning. A witness to the incident, who tried to help the man, said he had to run some distance to find a lifebuoy.
In another case the court heard how a 19-year-old man had a furious argument with his parents when they returned at 3 a.m. and asked some of his friends who were drinking in the house to leave.
He broke a pane of glass in a door and threatened to leave home. However, he calmed down and went upstairs. A short time later his sister found him hanging in the attic from an extension cable.
A post-mortem examination showed death was due to hanging. But a toxicology report showed 193 milligrams of alcohol to 100 millilitres of blood in his system - about 2 1/2 times the legal limit for driving.
The coroner returned an open verdict. He explained to the family that it was clear the young man took his own life. But because of the amount of alcohol in his blood he had to return an open verdict for legal reasons.
The third case involved a 24year-old man who was worried that a stomach condition might be cancerous. He hanged himself from a tree in a park near his home, using a skipping rope, on February 12th last.
A pathologist said there was no evidence of any cancer.
Earlier he had left the home of a friend saying he felt unwell.