Married couple died less than month apart from drug overdoses, inquest hears
Tragic details of how a married couple in their 40s from north Dublin died from drug overdoses less than a month apart from each other last year have been revealed at an inquest. Shaun McGuckin (46) a father-of-one of Pinewood Green Road, Balbriggan, Co Dublin was found unresponsive on a sofa in his family home by his mother shortly before lunchtime on April 12, 2024. A sitting of Dublin District Coroners Court heard that Mr McGuckin had formally identified the body of his wife, Róisín, to gardaí at the same address less than a month earlier. Ms McGuckin, who was aged 40 and came originally from Lucan, Co Dublin, had been found unresponsive in bed by her husband on March 14, 2014. A sister of Ms McGuckin, Ciara Travers, told the hearing that her brother-in-law had been "absolutely heartbroken" by the death of his wife at such a young age and had been attending grievance counselling at the time of his death. The couple had been together for 16 years. In a written statement, the deceased's mother, Frances McGuckin, said he had been "terribly upset" about his wife's passing and had "sobbed all night" the evening before his own death. Ms McGuckin said her son had not slept for weeks since Róisín had died and had taken two sleeping tablets that night. She described how she was waiting for a maintenance man to call to her home on April 12, 2024 and shouted out for her son to let him in when she heard a knock on the door at around 12.45pm. The inquest heard Ms McGuckin found him asleep on the sofa and got the maintenance man to help her when she could not wake him. A neighbour who was alerted to the scene also provided assistance in carrying out CPR on the deceased before an ambulance crew arrived at the house. Garda Conor Burns said Ms McGuckin had expressed no concerns about her son to gardaí apart from the passing of his partner. He noted that she had also informed him that he had past issues with drugs. The inquest heard that Mr McGuckin was on methadone and had sought medication and access to counselling for a low mood just two days before his death from his family doctor. A post-mortem on his body showed that the deceased had chronic lung disease and high levels of methadone and pregabalin (a painkiller) with evidence also of some cocaine. The coroner, Clare Keane, attributed the cause of death to exacerbation of chronic bronchitis and emphysema and methadone toxicity. In reply to concern raised by his sister-in-law, Dr Keane said there was no evidence to suggest his death was intentional. The coroner also heard how Mr McGuckin had found his wife unresponsive in their bed at around 11.30 on March 14, 2024. Evidence was heard that he had dialled 999 when he was unable to wake her and had tried giving her CPR before paramedics arrived at their home. Garda Conall Harkin told the hearing that there was nothing disturbed or out of the ordinary at the scene. He recalled being informed by Mr McGuckin that his wife had been "in good form" before going to bed and had not taken any drugs. Dr Keane noted that the deceased's medical notes showed she had a history of seizures which were possibly linked to not taking her methadone medication. A post-mortem showed that Ms McGuckin had a high level of methadone in her body as well as several types of benzodiazepines. The coroner observed that the combination of such drugs would have completely depressed the deceased's respiratory system. Recording verdicts of misadventure in relation to both deaths, Dr Keane remarked that the four weeks after Ms McGuckin's death must have been "horrendous" for her husband. Offering her condolences to relatives of the couple, the coroner added: "The tragedy is always for those left behind." Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage.
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