An inquest into the death of a Czech National whose body was found in an Ennis laneway six months ago has found he had toxic levels of alcohol in his system when he died of a heart-attack.
The case of Josef Pavelka received national attention just five weeks before his death, after a district court judge described it as a ‘scandal’ that he was living in a public toilet in Ennis.
On the night of May 5th, Josef Pavelka was discovered collapsed in a laneway behind Supermac’s in Ennis.
He never regained consciousness. Giving evidence, Sgt Sandra Healy said Gardaí were called to the scene after 11:30, just forty minutes after Mr. Pavelka had saluted them as they drove past him on O’Connell Street.
A post mortem on the 52-year-old’s remains found cardiac failure, secondary to heart disease, associated with toxic levels of blood alcohol were the causes of his death.
County coroner Isobel O’Dea described his death of the well-known Pavelka as ‘tragic’, and returned a verdict in accordance with the medical evidence.
She also offered sympathy to those who had helped him during his eight years in Clare, including local priest Fr. Tom Hogan who was in attendance.
