A LAW clerk who failed to turn up at a friend's house to watch a football match on TV had died from an accidental overdose of heroin combined with morphine, an inquest heard yesterday.
John Peter Doran (35), who was single, was found dead in his house at Albert Court, off Grand Canal Quay, Dublin, after failing to turn up for work in a Howth solicitors office on May 25th last.
His friend, Ms Sophie Carey, of Grosvenor Place, Rathmines, told the Dublin Coroners Court yesterday that the deceased had failed to arrive for a dinnernd also to watch the European champions cup on television the previous evening.
Mr Giles Kennedy, a solicitor and brother in law, Balkhill Road, Howth, said the deceased had been working at his law firm since 1983 and had always been very trustworthy. After returning from the Incorporated Law Society offices on May 24th last year, the deceased told him that he was going out for dinner to a friend's house and to watch a soccer game. Mr Kennedy said he was completely unaware that the deceased used addictive drugs.
An autopsy carried out by Dr James Kirrane at the Mater Hospital showed that death resulted from respiratory failure due to the combined effects of opiate compounds and a very small level of alcohol.
A verdict of misadventure was returned.