INQUEST TOLD OF CORK GIRL'S DEATH AFTER DRINKING

A coroner yesterday warned of the dangers of adults buying alcohol for
minors after an inquest heard how a 13-year-old girl choked on her
vomit after drinking six lagers which had been bought for her in an
off-licence.

The Cork City Coroner, Dr Myra Cullinane, described the death of
Michelle Ring (13), from Foyle Avenue, Knocknaheeny, in the early
hours of May 15th last year as a deeply personal tragedy for her family.

"This tragedy highlights the folly, for whatever reason, of persons
supplying or helping young people to purchase alcohol. The message
must go out about the dangers of young people ingesting alcohol", Dr
Cullinane said.

Michelle's friend, Christine Gostle (15), told how she had been with
Michelle and some other friends at about 6.30 p.m. on May 14th last
year. They had been close to the Hollyhill Inn, not far from
Michelle's home in Knocknaheeny.

"We were by the off-licence and we wanted to buy drink, but we knew we
wouldn't be served because we were under age", Christine told the inquest.

She said that they had only begun drinking a month earlier and usually
got older people to buy drink for them from the off-licence.

Christine told how she approached Ms Yvonne Mason, a woman in her 20s,
and asked her to go into the off-licence and buy them drink.

She handed Ms Mason a pounds 10 note and she returned with a 10-pack
of lager and pounds4 change.

Ms Mason said in evidence Christine used to call to her house and had
begged her to buy her drink, but she had always refused to do so. When
Christine asked her outside the off-licence, she refused at first, but
when Christine asked again, she had relented.

She bought 10 bottles of lager and a packet of cigarettes and gave
them to Christine, who was with some friends.

"I never bought drink for Michelle Ring. I bought drink for Christine,
but I didn't know who she was going to supply it to," Ms Mason said.

Christine told how she and Michelle each drank five bottles of lager
and later asked another woman to buy them more. She bought them two
cans, and they each drank one before returning to Christine's house at
about 10 p.m.

Michelle left for home at about 10.30 p.m., and her sister, Tracy
(15), told how Michelle went to bed soon after coming home. "I didn't
think she was acting proper, so I went up to her room, and she was
playing with her doll and her walkie-talkie."

She went upstairs an hour later with her brother, Bernard (11), and
found Michelle covered in vomit. They removed a pillow from her face,
and Bernard went out to get a neighbour, Catherine Sweeney, who tried
to resuscitate her.

Ms Sweeney said: "Michelle was lying on her stomach . . . Her face and
lips were purple . . . She appeared unconscious."

She kept trying to resuscitate Michelle until an ambulance arrived and
took her to the Mercy Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The inquest heard that gardai who searched Michelle's room found an
aerosol spray in the sleeve of her jacket.

The Deputy State Pathologist, Dr Margaret Bolster, said it was
impossible to say whether Michelle had been abusing solvents. The
post-mortem examination revealed that she had an alcohol concentration
of 107mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood.

"The alcohol level, while reasonably low for an adult, would have a
far greater effect on a 13-year-old", Dr Bolster said. She found death
was due to inhaling vomit after taking alcohol, with the possibility
of solvent abuse.

Dr Cullinane said that the circumstances of Michelle's death were
tragic.

She returned a verdict of death by misadventure, saying that it was an
obviously unintentional result of drinking the lager. "These deaths
are among the saddest we have to deal with in the coroner's court.
It's a deeply personal tragedy for the family", she added.

Commiserations were expressed to the Ring family on behalf of the
Garda by Insp John O'Brien.