Dolores will ‘live on eternally’
THE former Cranberries bandmates of Dolores O’Riordan have said she will “live on eternally” through her music. An inquest yesterday heard she drowned in a hotel bath tub while more than four times over the drink driving limit.
ROCK star Dolores O’Riordan accidentally drowned in the bath tub of her London hotel room while more than four times over the drink driving limit.
Westminster Coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe returned a verdict of accidental death, with the 46-year-old Cranberries singer having drowned due to alcohol intoxication.
Ms O’Riordan was found dead in bedroom 2005 at the Hilton hotel on Park Lane in London at 9am on January 15 this year.
The Limerick mother of three was discovered by a shocked hotel maid with her head and nose below the water level in the bathroom bathtub. She was wearing pyjama bottoms and a vest.
A number of empty alcohol containers, all from the hotel minibar, were found in the bedroom, including an empty Champagne bottle.
Hotel records showed the minibar had been activated at 2am.
Ms O’Riordan had a blood alcohol level of 330mg, more than four times the legal drink driving limit.
While containers for prescription medications were found in the room, only one was slightly over the therapeutic range in her system.
There was no evidence of any intent or note found in the room. The singer had been scheduled to travel to New York the following week to work on a solo album.
“This seems to be solely a tragic accident,” Dr Radcliffe said.
The inquest was attended by Ms O’Riordan’s mother, Eileen, her brother, PJ, and sister-in-law.
In a statement issued to the Limerick Leader last night, the singer’s family said they remained “heartbroken” following her sudden death.
“We are immensely proud of Dolores’s many achievements. Coming from rural County Limerick, our Dolores dared to dream the impossible dream and achieved phenomenal global success and fame in her chosen career.
“She was a very determined and strong-minded person, traits evident from an early age. If you asked Dolores as a young child what she wanted to be when she grew up, she would look you in the eye and tell you she was going to be a rock star. Simple as that.”
The statement added: “Fame however, can sometimes bring with it a heavy burden, and as a family, we want to acknowledge that Dolores’s life was not without challenges, particularly in the past few years. She was receiving the best professional care available to help her overcome these challenges.”
Her colleagues in The Cranberries also issued a statement saying they were still strug-
gling to come to terms with the loss of “our dear friend and band mate”.
“Dolores will live on eternally in her music – to see how much of a positive impact she had on people’s lives has been a great source of comfort to us,” the band said.
The Metropolitan Police had stressed within two weeks of the death of the Limerick star that the incident was not being treated as suspicious.
A friend staying in the same hotel had been concerned the previous evening at Ms O’Riordan’s relapse into alcohol use.
On a previous occasion while she was drinking heavily, she had written a suicide note – only to pass out and seek help when she later regained consciousness.
Dr Radcliffe heard evidence at an Inner West London inquest from eight witnesses in relation to the circumstances of the death of the rock star.
The star had stopped drinking and, in late 2017, was looking forward to career challenges.
Traces of four medications used to treat depressive disorders were found in her system but all bar one was within the low therapeutic range. That fourth drug was found in only a slightly elevated range.