A Donegal coroner expressed concern yesterday about the adverse influence that alcohol is having on young people in Irish society.
Addressing the jury at an inquest in Letterkenny into the death of a Tyrone teenager in Donegal last year, Mr Sean Cannon said people are "living in dangerous times when the modern culture of marketing and advertising tells young people that it is cool to partake in the consumption of alcopop beverages."
Brendan Rush (15) from Castlefin Road, Castlederg, Co Tyrone, had gone to a mid-term disco in Donegal town on February 17th, 2002, but, the inquest heard, had "missed his bus home by a matter of seconds".
A search was mounted the next day and his body was discovered near the pier off Donegal town on February 27th.
In her evidence, the Assistant State Pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy, stated that the boy had died from drowning, with acute alcohol intoxication being a contributory cause.
The level of alcohol in his system indicated the equivalent of consuming half a bottle of spirits or six or seven beers in a short period, she stated. She estimated he had died about an hour after consuming his last drink.
Mr Cannon said it was "very sad that the sequence of events leading to the death of Brendan Rush had been punctuated with alcohol" and that the start of the journey from the deceased's home town of Castlederg had been "influenced by alcohol".
He added: "It is difficult to comprehend the laissez-faire attitude in modern times to easy access and availability of alcohol for young drinkers."
He also felt that it was disturbing to see how entertainment events seem to be "overshadowed or clouded by alcohol" and that "it appears in modern times that people seem to be so inebriated that the event is of little or no importance".
The inquest heard that on the bus to the disco, the deceased - described by his mother as "a happy-go-lucky 15-year-old" - had been drinking Buckfast wine and a vodka-based drink. He also drank in the disco at the Abbey Hotel in Donegal town. He was last seen by his friends from the bus at 1.30 a.m.
Schoolgirl Clare Duffy from Castlefin recalled seeing Brendan Rush after the disco. She said he seemed "very drunk" and he was "staggering and leaning against walls for support". She did not know him at the time, but recognised his picture subsequently on television.
Sgt John O'Donnell, who was on patrol on the night in question, described Mr Rush as being "obviously quite drunk". He was looking for his bus home when the gardaí spoke with him.
"It was an unusually busy night and the age group was lower than normal," Sgt O'Donnell added, explaining that it was a mid-term break and around 1,000 people were in the centre of Donegal town after a disco had ended. Garda Michael Burke described Mr Rush as "very mannerly and a nice lad".
The jury returned a unanimous verdict that Mr Rush's death was due to drowning, with alcohol intoxication as a contributory factor.