A UCC STUDENT died of alcoholic poisoning following a drinking game that led to a lethal vodka binge in Cork.
Gary Brian Murphy (19), Grantstown, Co Waterford, downed a large quantity of vodka in one slug for a dare at a party in his student flat at Victoria Mills on December 6th, 2009. He was celebrating a county hurling final win with friends.
Shortly after, he collapsed by the lift, his friends stripped him naked and placed him inside. He was sent up and down the building in the lift before he was removed and his friends put him to bed.
He was placed on his side in bed, in case he vomited. Two friends took a razor from the bathroom and shaved off one of his eyebrows. Minutes later, one of his friends noticed his lips had turned blue and panic spread through the party, the inquest was told.
The young student had a blood alcohol level of 399 milligrams per 100 millilitres on admission to hospital, which is in the fatal range, according to coroner Dr Myra Cullinane. The level of alcohol in his urine on admission to hospital was 519 milligrams.
At an inquest yesterday into his death, his father Liam Murphy said Gary was a “lovely lad”, who “loved life, loved hurling and loved college life at UCC”.
In an emotional tribute, Mr Murphy said his son had trained hard all year with his hurling team-mates, but admitted that he had “probably over-indulged” on the night.
“He was a lovely lad; through his whole life he had fantastic core values, he loved life, loved living in Cork and he loved college life at UCC,” Mr Murphy said yesterday at Cork City Coroner’s Court.
“He was deeply loved by his mam, dad, sister Laura and extended family. He is sadly missed and his tragic death has devastated our family.”
Gary’s parents heard how a drinking game got under way at their son’s student flat, some time after 10pm. Gary produced a bottle of apple vodka, which he was serving up to those playing the game and drinking neat himself.
The inquest heard evidence from his friends at the party, who said he drank between six and 11 cans before opening the litre bottle of apply-flavoured vodka he had brought home from a holiday.
Cillian Murphy, a second-year commerce student, said Gary was drinking the vodka straight from the bottle.
Eyewitnesses said there was one quarter of the bottle left when Gary drank it back in one go.
“He drank half the bottle and then we all gave a fiver for a dare and he finished it off. He fell sideways on to the table in the living room and then he got straight up and was able to stand on his own,” he said. He took his shirt off and had his hands in the air but was later seen lying on his side on the couch.
“He was really drunk, his eyes kept rolling back in his head,” Cillian Murphy said.
Pádraig O’Shea said the drinking game ended when Gary Murphy drained the bottle of vodka he had been drinking in one slug.
“Gary was drinking his own bottle of vodka he had bought on holiday. He took the first slug and coughed and then drank it back,” he said. “He was very drunk when we put him to bed but I wasn’t seriously worried about him until I saw him turning blue.”
A former student nurse checked his pulse and noticed he was gasping for air. “He had gone really pale and grey, it was like he was choking and his pulse was really faint,” Ann Marie Norris said.
Emergency services were called but when paramedics arrived at 11.40pm, the young student had stopped breathing.
He was rushed to Cork University Hospital where he lay in a coma for 10 days until his death on December 17th, two days after his 19th birthday.
In her autopsy report, Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster said Gary Murphy’s level of acute alcohol intoxication had led to a cardiac respiratory arrest.
Coroner Dr Cullinane described the loss of the young hurler as “unbearable” and said that while the dangers of alcohol were well recognised, they were seldom so tragically illustrated.
The jury returned a verdict of death by misadventure.