TRAGEDY OF BROTHERS WHO DIED ON METHADONE PROGRAMME

The coroner could not find the words to describe the tragedy that had
befallen Hugh and Eileen Harris.

In the space of just three weeks the polite, quietly spoken Dublin parents
had lost their two sons.

On October 31, 1999, Hugh junior died. A long time heroin addict, he took a
deadly cocktail of methadone, the heroin substitute, and two types of
sedatives.

Three weeks later on the November 21, their other son, Paul, died. Another
heroin addict, Paul also took a lethal combination of drugs, including
methadone.

There were painful scenes in the Dublin City Coroners Court yesterday as
the grief stricken parents of Hugh and Paul outlined the events of those
dreadful weeks.

Hugh Snr said although Hugh, 39, had a flat, he mainly lived with them in
Ballyfermot. He called over to the house on the morning of Sunday 31,
October. He went up to his bedroom later that morning.

"I checked him at 3.30pm. Hugh was asleep, snoring," he said. "We went out
for a walk. We had left his dinner in the kitchen and returned at 6.30
6.45pm, but the dinner was still there."

Hugh said he went up to his son's room to check on him. "He was lying on
the side of the bed. He was cold and there was a slight vomit to his side.
I screamed out to the missus to ring an ambulance."

Hugh said his son had been taking heroin for a long time and had been on a
methadone treatment programme at the Aisling Clinic.

"He seemed to be getting on well. He never gave us any trouble. He was like
a mouse."

Hugh was brought to St James's Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Three weeks later Hugh and Eileen were out walking with Paul, 33, who also
lived in the family home.

Paul, who was on a methadone programme in the Pearse Street Clinic, had
barely been out of the house since his brother died.

"He didn't eat or sleep. He went into himself," said Eileen. She said they
brought him out for a walk to cheer him up. "He was in great form,
laughing, joking and singing."

She said Paul complained of being chesty that day and had earlier been
given three antibiotics by Pearse Street Clinic for it.

When they arrived home they went into the sitting room. "He said he was
going upstairs to watch a film in his room. I went up about half and hour
later and I found him bent over between the locker and the bed.

"I said 'good God man get up'. He was croaking. I screamed for the missus
to call an ambulance."

Paul was brought to St James's casualty unit suffering cardiac arrest.
Attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.

Coroner Dr Brian Farrell said post mortems into the deaths of Hugh and Paul
showed that both had died from high levels of methadone, combined with
other drugs.

Hugh had also consumed thyridazine and benzodiazepines, a sedative. Paul
had also consumed thyridazine.

Their mother asked the coroner how Hugh and Paul could have such high
levels of methadone in their system since both were given regulated amounts
by their clinics.

Coroner Dr Brian Farrell said he could not explain how they came to ingest
so much.

Mrs Harris confirmed that Hugh had been suffering from depression for a
year. She said she was afraid he would overdose because of the number of
tablets he was taking.

She said Paul regulated his own doses and that they were consumed in the
Pearse Street Clinic.

But she said methadone could be bought on the streets in Ballyfermot quite
easily, although she didn't know if her sons had done so before their deaths.

Dr Farrell said he would be writing to the two clinics informing them of
the circumstances of the deaths and the difficulty for clients to self
administer multiple prescriptions.

"Methadone is a problem and a cause of many deaths. It has to be carefully
regulated and the taking of it carefully supervised."

He said there had been only one or two other occasions in the last year and
a half where two brothers had died in heroin related cases.

He told Hugh and Eileen Harris that he could not begin to find the words to
describe the trauma they were going through.

"To lose two sons in three weeks is overwhelming. I don't know what to say.
I hope you can find the strength to come to terms with this."

He recorded a verdict of death by misadventure in both cases.