Brickens man died the day his father was buried

Brickens man died the day his father was buried


THE inquest into the death of a 33-year-old Claremorris man heard that he died less than 24 hours after burying his own father.
Thomas Hunt of Keebagh, Brickens, Claremorris, was found dead on October 7, 2009, by his sister in his family home the morning after his father, Dermot, was buried. The inquest heard that he had arrived home from England for the funeral and had gone to bed ‘in good form’ after staying up during the night telling stories with his family about his dad and family life.
Mr Hunt’s brother, Dermot, explained that they returned from the funeral to their home at approximately 11pm. He said they all gradually started to go to bed until himself and Tom were left on their own at 5am. They had a few more drinks. At around 7am, Tom started to nod off, and his brother helped him to bed. Dermot said that when Tom left him in bed, he had no concerns for him.
Tom’s sister, Naomi, said that she got up at 11am and explained that her mother was anxious that her brothers would get up also. She said she went to waken Tom and noticed that one of his arms was hanging over the bed, but did not think anything of it and joked with her sister about the way he was lying. However, when she called his name there was no answer, and she knew by his colour that there was something wrong.
An ambulance was called and his sister, Andrea, performed CPR. A GP gave him an adrenaline shot to the heart, but it failed. Naomi said that while Tom had been drinking throughout the day, he had not been drinking to excess.
Dr Tunde Adegbola, the consultant pathologist who performed the post-mortem, said that while the level of alcohol in Mr Hunt’s system was high it was not fatal. The doctor did find traces of a prescription drug in his system, but said the cause of death in his opinion was asphyxia due to aspiration of gastric content.
Mr John O’Dwyer, the Coroner for South Mayo, recorded a death by misadventure and extended his sympathy to Mr Hunt’s mother and siblings. He said that two deaths in the one house, one the day after the other, was a difficult cross to bear and hoped that they would find the strength to deal with their loss.