A VERDICT of death by misadventure was recorded yesterday in the case of former showband star Brendan O'Brien of the Dixies, who passed away earlier this year.
Mr O'Brien (66) played guitar and sang with the Dixies showband for more than a decade from the early 1960s.
He was found dead at his home off Gerald Griffin Street in Cork city on April 3rd last.
Cork City Coroner's Court heard yesterday that Mr O'Brien's habitual drinking caused him to develop an enlarged heart.
Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane was told that Mr O'Brien's home-help Carmel Hennessy arrived at his flat in Allinetts Lane, Cork city on April 3rd. Ms Hennessy knocked at the door shortly before 1.30pm but did not receive any answer. She then phoned Mr O'Brien's mobile but got his voicemail on three successive occasions. Ms Hennessy returned to the house at 4.50pm and when she did not get a reply she let herself into the premises with her key.
There she found Mr O'Brien slumped over a chair by his sitting room table. She notified gardaí at Watercourse Road station in Cork.
Sgt Marian Maguire said there was no evidence of forced entry or foul play. Mr O'Brien was last seen alive two days before his death by his home-help. His body was formally identified at Cork University Hospital by his ex-wife Marie Curtin. A postmortem carried out by Dr Margaret Bolster indicated Mr O'Brien had died of an enlarged heart.
The cause of death was given as acute cardiac failure due to enlarged heart in association with acute alcohol intoxication. The court heard that Mr O'Brien's alcohol abuse had almost certainly caused his enlarged heart.
Dr Culliane offered her sympathy to Mr O'Brien's family and to his children who are based overseas. She said the late showman would have been held in "high affection" by members of the public.
Mr O'Brien had his biggest hit with Little Arrows which reached number one in 1968 and stayed in the charts for 20 weeks.
The Dixies were a star attraction throughout Ireland and successfully took their unique style of dance hall entertainment to Europe and the US. The band recorded 27 singles, most of which were top 10 hits.
Mr O'Brien left the Dixies in 1972 to form Stage Two, enjoying some success before he was electrocuted on stage in 1974, which forced him to stop performing for some years.
However, in the weeks before his death he had performed at Cork Opera House and the Silversprings hotel in the city.