Young Waterford man to be buried today

John Grey, the second man to die in Waterford last week after ingesting cocaine at a party in the city two weeks ago, will be…

John Grey, the second man to die in Waterford last week after ingesting cocaine at a party in the city two weeks ago, will be buried in St Otteran's Cemetery today following 11am Mass in St Saviour's Church.

Last night hundreds of mourners paid their respects to the 23-year-old, who had spent 13 days on a life-support machine at Waterford Regional Hospital before he died on Saturday.

His friend, Kevin Doyle, a 21-year-old electronics student from Viewmount, Waterford, was buried last Thursday.

The men were two of 15 people treated at the emergency department of the hospital following a party at Mr Grey's family home in Ballybeg Square in the early hours of November 25th. The pair, understood to have taken cocaine orally and possibly speed at the party, remained critical on life support until their deaths.

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Mr Grey's remains were removed from Thompson's funeral home on Barrack St last night and brought to St Saviour's Church, Ballybeg.

Acting parish priest Fr Martin Crowe said last night that, unfortunately, Ballybeg knew what it was to witness the deaths of young people over the years.

He sympathised with Mr Grey's parents, Martin and Betty, brothers Michael (25) and Mark (21); sister, Michelle (28), and the extended family. He told the congregation "little did you think, on November 24th, when you went out to celebrate Mark's 21st, that it would end in such tragedy."

Ciarán Murphy

Ciarán Murphy

Ciarán Murphy, a contributor to The Irish Times, is a sports journalist. He writes about Gaelic games