Love/Hate actor died of overdose in Mountjoy - but wasn't heroin user: 'You left this earth too soon'
Daniel “Dano” Doyle (31) – who had appeared as an extra in Love/Hate – was found unresponsive in his cell in Mountjoy six and a half years ago
The family of a young Dublin fitness instructor who died as a result of a heroin overdose in Mountjoy Prison have admitted they remain “baffled” by his death as he was not a user of the drug.
Daniel “Dano” Doyle (31) – who had appeared as an extra in the TV crime drama, Love/Hate – was found unresponsive in his cell in Mountjoy six and a half years ago.
The father of one from Pairc na Cuileann, Sillogue Road, Ballymun, died in the intensive care unit at the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital in Dublin on June 25, 2018 without regaining consciousness ten days after he had been transferred there from the prison.
A sitting of Dublin District Coroner’s Court on Friday heard a postmortem on Mr Doyle’s body showed he died from brain damage due to polydrug toxicity. Blood samples taken in the Mater while Mr Doyle was alive showed he had consumed heroin as well as a number of prescribed drugs around the time of his collapse.
Forensic tests on a brown substance found in white plastic wrappers discovered in the prisoner’s cell confirmed it was heroin. A jury of three women and three men returned a verdict of death by misadventure.
The inquest heard that the postmortem also showed there was no evidence that Mr Doyle, who was a protected prisoner, was an intravenous drug user. Speaking after the hearing, the deceased’s sister, Ashley Doyle, said her family were still “baffled” over how her brother had died as they did not believe he took heroin.
“There are still a lot of questions about what happened for which we don’t have answers,” said her sister, Megan.
A report by the Inspector of Prisons into Mr Doyle’s death, which was published in 2020, was unable to determine how he had come into the possession of drugs in Mountjoy. The report also recorded that he had denied having a history of drug use on his committal to prison and did not get any medical treatment for drug-related issues while serving his sentence.
The deputy governor of Mountjoy Prison, John Quinn, told the inquest that trying to provide addiction and other treatment services for the number of prisoners with drug problems was “becoming unmanageable nearly.”
Mr Quinn said random searches were carried out on two cells on each of the prison’s 18 landings on a daily basis, while other visual examinations were also conducted. In reply to questions from the corner, Myra Cullinane, about drug treatment services in the Irish Prison Service, Mr Quinn said unfortunately they were “way short” of the number of drug counsellors needed.
“The problem of drug abuse [in prisons] is resources,” he added. Mr Quinn said it was very hard to keep up with the demand for the number of prisoners in need of drug treatment services and the issue was “becoming unmanageable nearly.”
Asked by the coroner about the use in Irish prisons of naloxone – a drug that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose – Mr Quinn said it was now readily available having been introduced in the past two years but was not used at the time of Mr Doyle’s death. The deceased was serving a one-year prison sentence for a drug-related offence and was due for release in November 2018.
The inquest heard from several prison officers who gave evidence that there had been nothing of any concern in relation to the prisoner prior to discovering him in an unresponsive state at 8.05am on June 15, 2018 when his cell was unlocked and a Code Red medical emergency was triggered.
Garda Daniel Keaney gave evidence that it was only discovered after the prisoner’s death that images from CCTV cameras on Mr Doyle’s landing were not working. Garda Keaney said the problem was traced to a technical fault which showed the images were not being recorded for over a month prior to the incident.
He said Mr Doyle was last recorded on the prison’s CCTV system in the gym on the previous evening when he appeared “in good health.” Cross examined by Seoirse Fennessy BL for Mr Doyle’s family, Garda Keaney said there was no sign that the prisoner was unstable or intoxicated.
In a tribute read out on his family’s behalf, Mr Doyle’s partner, Diane Geraghty told the inquest that he was “warm, loving and friendly” with “a fantastic sense of humour.” She described how he developed a passion for health and fitness as a teenager and joined his local gym where he had a special friendship with a young person with special needs.
Fighting back tears Ms Geraghty said his dream came true when their son, Cole, was born in October 2012 and recalled how they had an “unbreakable and unmatched” bond.
The inquest heard he had made great progress in making a better life for himself and his son and had started an online fitness training business which he planned to resume on his release from prison. Ms Geraghty said the psychological and emotional impact of his death had a detrimental impact on his mother, Ann.
She told the hearing that his family believed the trauma of losing her son was the cause of their mother’s cancer, while his father is terminally ill and requiring 24-hour care in a nursing home. Ms Geraghty said the family speak about him every day and hope that they are doing him proud.
She added: “Although you left this earth too soon, you also left us your greatest accomplishment in life. We have the best part of you here with us every day – your son.”
“We love you Daniel and regardless of the outcome of today, we know you weren’t ready to leave us all behind,” said Ms Geraghty.
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