A young man lost his life over a foolish mistake

Ellie2008 · 08-05-2014 07:47PM #1

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/tragedy-strikes-young-irishman-one-day-after-pleading-guilty-in-court-case-in-australia-30256946.html#comments

I'm heartbroken by this. I read some of the posts commenting on the original story yesterday which to say the least lacked empathy for a young man who made a foolish, drunken mistake. The judge acknowledged that his crime was committed without pre-meditation or malice of any kind. Why are we always so ready to pound our keyboards and rush to judge? Was it not enough that he had to live with the damage he'd caused without the "name and shame". My heart goes out to his poor parents.

frozenfrozen · 08-05-2014 07:51PM

Surely it's the hotels fault for having this hydrant capable of causing 500,000 worth of damage, out in the open around the bar/where people who have been drinking in the hotel can easily get to? Now I'm sure no matter how drunk I got I'd never do something so stupid and destructive, but realistically you can't blame him for half a million euro worth of damage to a hotel because he turned on a hydrant

Deathwish4 · 08-05-2014 07:53PM

Too easy to blame alcohol. Everyone is responsible for their own actions.

BearBanjer · 08-05-2014 07:54PM

frozenfrozen wrote: »

Surely it's the hotels fault....realistically you can't blame him for half a million euro worth of damage to a hotel because he turned on a hydrant

Logic fail.

WoollyRedHat · 08-05-2014 07:54PM

Devasting news, thoughts with family and friends, I genuinely got emotional reading that.

ryan101 · 08-05-2014 07:54PM

"This entire thing has ruined my life completely”

“I’ve spent 10 years in Australia trying to better myself and in the space of one night everything can be taken away from you."

“People who go out for the night and drink too much can ruin themselves completely.”

Padraig Gaffney, 1985-2014, R.I.P.

Eternal Rest Grant Unto Him O Lord, and May Perpetual Light Shine Upon His Soul.

Del2005 · 08-05-2014 07:55PM

frozenfrozen wrote: »

Surely it's the hotels fault for having this hydrant capable of causing 500,000 worth of damage, out in the open around the bar/where people who have been drinking in the hotel can easily get to? Now I'm sure no matter how drunk I got I'd never do something so stupid and destructive, but realistically you can't blame him for half a million euro worth of damage to a hotel because he turned on a hydrant

Have a look around any large building and you'll see easily accessible fire hydrants. The bigger risk is fire fighters not been able to find water than a drunken jack ass letting it off.

Realistically he was responsible as the courts imposed a fine.

amdublin · 08-05-2014 07:55PM

Very very sad.

eviltwin · 08-05-2014 07:56PM

Reading between the lines he took his own life over the stress of the court case. Yes its very sad but he was in that position because of his own actions. Everyone makes mistakes but the hotel was out of pocket for a large amount of money so I can understand why they took him to court. But its a tragic outcome and my thoughts are with his family.

Menas · 08-05-2014 07:56PM

frozenfrozen wrote: »

Surely it's the hotels fault for having this hydrant capable of causing 500,000 worth of damage, out in the open around the bar/where people who have been drinking in the hotel can easily get to? Now I'm sure no matter how drunk I got I'd never do something so stupid and destructive, but realistically you can't blame him for half a million euro worth of damage to a hotel because he turned on a hydrant

The hydrant was in the 8th floor stairwell, not in the ground floor bar.

But it is a very sad story. He was there for the weekend to propose. It all went Pete Tong for the lad. His girlfriend dumped him and he seemed shocked at what he had done.
But to die over this? Sad indeed.

The Backwards Man · 08-05-2014 07:57PM

I've stopped reading the comments below news sites. They just leave me angry, hurt, disappointed and with a strong desire to emigrate.

Then I remember that these trollish keyboard warriors, even though they seem to be in their thousands, are still in the tiny minority, and I pity their small minded, pathetic, hate filled lives.

tvc15 · 08-05-2014 07:57PM

frozenfrozen wrote: »

Surely it's the hotels fault for having this hydrant capable of causing 500,000 worth of damage, out in the open around the bar/where people who have been drinking in the hotel can easily get to? Now I'm sure no matter how drunk I got I'd never do something so stupid and destructive, but realistically you can't blame him for half a million euro worth of damage to a hotel because he turned on a hydrant

It still needs to be accessible in case of a fire!

Ihatecuddles · 08-05-2014 07:58PM

Did he commit suicide over this? Or am I taking this up wrong?

Red Alert · 08-05-2014 07:59PM

Fire equipment is there to save lives. If you screw around with it, drunk or not, it's a legal and moral crime. What would have happened if the hydrant was unserviceable due to being mucked around with? People need to learn how to go out and have a few drinks without destroying property "for the craic".

Custardpi · 08-05-2014 08:00PM

In a previous time he could possibly have put this behind him by moving away after paying the fine. Unfortunately in the age of the internet everything can be googled so for the rest of his life the first thing that would have come up about him was this incident, making a career extremely difficult as many people are so quick to judge based on past errors. That's an enormous burden to carry & it was clearly too much for the guy. RIP.

Menas · 08-05-2014 08:00PM

mauzo! wrote: »

Did he commit suicide over this? Or am I taking this up wrong?

They have not released the cause of death yet.

Menas · 08-05-2014 08:01PM

Red Alert wrote: »

Fire equipment is there to save lives. If you screw around with it, drunk or not, it's a legal and moral crime. What would have happened if the hydrant was unserviceable due to being mucked around with? People need to learn how to go out and have a few drinks without destroying property "for the craic".

Did you read the article about what happened on the night?
He did not do it for the craic.

Olive8585 · 08-05-2014 08:02PM

I'm torn because I obviously have sympathy for his friends and family, but at the same time he was a grown man and responsible for his actions. I don't know why so many Irish/British people feel that 'I was drunk' absolves them of any blame. He chose to get drunk and he caused hundreds of dollars worth of damage. Of course the hotel weren't stupid to have it where people could get to it - it needed to be accessible in case of a fire! It's not their fault that some people are irresponsible and can't hold their drink. It's about time the courts over here stopped accepting 'I was drunk' as an excuse, IMO.

Tipsy McSwagger · 08-05-2014 08:02PM

We all make stupid decisions with drink in us, but this young man had to go to court and face the embarrassment of his relatively silly mistake. Then he was treated like crap and faced further embarrassment by the local rag which had a headline that said “Drunk Paddy’s $500k flood of tears”. His gf then broke up with him. Poor chap just couldn't take it anymore.

TeddyTedson · 08-05-2014 08:02PM

His mental state of mind must have been extremely fragile.

Why the story received such a massive amount of media attention I'm not really sure. It wasn't the first time someone had done something stupid while drunk with huge consequences. The courts had dealt with the situation. But I guess you can't really blame the media either, it's the nature of the game.

Unfortunately nobody seemed to pick up on how badly the guy was taking it all and on high alert. Him saying he had "ruined his life" was a bit worrying.

Condolences to his family and friends,
RIP.

willowthewisp · 08-05-2014 08:03PM

Very sad, thoughts are with his family.
The young lad didn't mean any harm he made a mistake and seemed quite remorseful about it.

Muise... · 08-05-2014 08:04PM

It sounds like he took his life, rather than lost it. Ach, sad either way, but I wouldn't be blaming the hotel, as 'lost' might imply.

caustic 1 · 08-05-2014 08:04PM

When I read about this yesterday I was thinking stupid fecker another irish idiot abroad, what a difference a day makes. He made a mistake and obviously felt deeply about it. I feel guilty about my thoughts today. RIP.

shamrock55 · 08-05-2014 08:04PM

Did he kill himself or something? ! Its just that the article just said he died

Slicemeister · 08-05-2014 08:05PM

Pity the poor ex-girlfriend, what torture she's going through.

Capt'n Midnight · 08-05-2014 08:08PM

frozenfrozen wrote: »

Surely it's the hotels fault for having this hydrant capable of causing 500,000 worth of damage, out in the open around the bar/where people who have been drinking in the hotel can easily get to?

Fire Extinguishers are for small fires.

Once you start using a fire hose you've crossed the Godzilla Threshold and you can't make things worse than a fire and can pretty much write off nearby furnishings and fittings and electricals and partition walls because not using a fire hose

Deco99 · 08-05-2014 08:09PM

Just to those who go on about the damage and drunken paddy stuff. He went to bed and got up and went out in hallway and urinated then went into stairwell and set off hydrant. When the firefighters found him he didnt remember a thing. Sounds like sleepwalking after drink to me. Can happen anyone.

shamrock55 · 08-05-2014 08:10PM

Does anyone not find it a bit strange how a fire hydrant couldnt have been turned off as easy as it was turned on

Nino Brown · 08-05-2014 08:14PM

How can anybody suggest that it was wrong to "name and shame" him. He committed a criminal act, and should be treated the same as anybody else, he wasn't a minor, so there was no reason to not name him. The fact he subsequently died doesn't suddenly make it wrong to treat him the same as everybody else.
It's a pity he died, but he committed a crime, and was given a very fair punishment. If you go out and drink more than you can handle, then commit a crime, you will be prosecuted, and have your name published. if you don't think that's fair, then don't drink more than you can handle.

Ellie2008 · 08-05-2014 08:15PM

eviltwin wrote: »

Reading between the lines he took his own life over the stress of the court case. Yes its very sad but he was in that position because of his own actions. Everyone makes mistakes but the hotel was out of pocket for a large amount of money so I can understand why they took him to court. But its a tragic outcome and my thoughts are with his family.

I'm not trying to argue that they shouldn't have taken him to court, I'm wondering why once said court had made its decision so many people got trigger happy with a keyboard and targeted a v remorseful man. He did the crime and paid the price the court felt was appropriate in the circumstances. Why his picture all over the papers? Why the mean comments? What does that say about us as a society?

Holsten · 08-05-2014 08:18PM

Highlights the huge problem of the media interference with criminal court cases.

A young man lost his life over a foolish mistake

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