Tragic Miriam sent a text to ask if anyone else felt sick

Tragic Miriam sent a text to ask if anyone else felt sick


www.keytraffic.com
By Ralph Riegel and Barry Duggan
Tuesday January 11 2011

A YOUNG woman texted her cousin asking if anyone else was feeling ill just hours before she died in a gas-filled hotel bedroom.

Tragic Miriam Reidy (35) fell ill hours before she eventually succumbed to the carbon monoxide fumes.She complained of feeling unwell at 5am but went back to bed.

Earlier, at 4.25am, Miriam had sent a text message to another cousin, Mairead Reidy, querying whether anyone else in their group had suddenly fallen ill. She was discovered dead in her bedroom just over seven hours later. Miriam died from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning before she could be rushed to hospital.

It has also emerged that Miriam's sister, Patricia Reidy (37), desperately tried to save her. Patricia was found semi- conscious in the same room.

The women had been attending the hen party of their cousin, Marie Reidy. Marie, a nurse at Tralee General Hospital discovered the pair and tried to save them. While she was able to save the life of Patricia, it was too late for Miriam.

"Marie did everything she could to save them," said family friend Cllr John Sheahan.

"She performed CPR on Patricia until the paramedics arrived and it's thanks to her there seems to be some ray of hope for Patricia in Cork hospital."

Fighting

Patricia Reidy is now in a stable condition in Cork University Hospital (CUH) after spending 24 hours fighting for her life. She was overcome by the gas as she tried to help her sister in the bedroom they shared in the Trident Hotel in Kinsale, Co Cork.

Both Miriam and Patricia Reidy had been in Kinsale to celebrate the 'hen' weekend of their first cousin and Mairead's sister, Marie Reidy, who is due to get married in February.

The sisters had been out with a group of almost 30 women.

Patricia and Mairead were discovered on the floor of their room when friends went to check on them at 1pm after becoming concerned at their failure to meet up as arranged on Sunday.

Several other people in the hotel also received medical attention over the course of last Saturday night-Sunday morning after complaining of feeling ill, with symptoms including nausea, headaches and dizziness.

A couple in a room near the Reidy sisters sought medical attention on Saturday night and were referred to CUH.

Members of the Reidy family including the sisters' parents, John and Josephine, from Ballyhahill in Co Limerick, were maintaining a vigil at Patricia's bedside in CUH.

Her condition has stabilised and there is increasing optimism about her recovery