Man who died at Body & Soul named locally as Andrew Duggan

31-year-old collapsed at the festival on Saturday ; Death described as ‘non-suspicious’

Andrew Duggan collapsed at the festival on Saturday afternoon and was pronounced dead at 3pm. Photograph: RIP.ie
Andrew Duggan collapsed at the festival on Saturday afternoon and was pronounced dead at 3pm. Photograph: RIP.ie

The 31-year-old man who died at the Body & Soul Festival in Co Westmeath over the weekend has been named locally as Andrew Duggan.

Mr Duggan, from Clonmore Heights in Mullingar, collapsed at the festival on Saturday afternoon and was pronounced dead at 3pm. His body was later removed to Mullingar Hospital. Festival organisers are working with the gardai in relation to the death and have described his death as “non-suspicious”.

This is the first time there has been a death at the festival, which has been running for eight years.

A notice on RIP.ie states: “Adored son of Tommy and Ann and much loved brother of Tommy Jnr. Andrew will be very sadly missed by his heartbroken parents and brother, his aunts, uncles, cousins, relatives and many friends.”

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His funeral is due to take place at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Mullingar on Wednesday at 10am followed by burial in Ballyglass cemetery.

Local councillor Paddy Hill said “it’s a very tragic and sad event”. “All one can do is give our condolences to his family. It’s terrible when you see a young man passing away so suddenly, it casts a shadow over the whole area,” the Fianna Fail councillor said.

“The community is greatly shocked, the Body & Soul festival has been very popular in the area. When something like that happens it sends the whole area into shock.”

In a statement on Saturday, festival director Avril Stanley said: “We can confirm that An Garda Siochana at Delvin Garda station are investigating a non-suspicious sudden death.

“The male was taken to the medical tent this afternoon by medical staff and tended to at the time by advanced paramedics and a consultant doctor in emergency medicine.

“His family and friends have been notified. We wish to extend our deepest condolences to them at this time.

“We will continue to work closely with the gardai on their investigation in this matter. The team at Body & Soul are absolutely devastated by the news today.”

Sarah Burns

Sarah Burns

Sarah Burns is a reporter for The Irish Times