Friends played pranks as teen died from drinking game

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A young Irishman who died of alcohol poisoning last December was the butt of his friends' jokes as they took his clothes off him and shaved his eyebrows while he was unconscious.

Gary Murphy, 19, died 10 days after being admitted to Cork University Hospital.

Murphy, who had a blood alcohol level that was five times more than the legal driving limit in Ireland, was so drunk that his friends thought it would be humorous to shove him into an elevator in his apartment block and send him up and down unclothed.

There was a party at Murphy's residence in Cork City with over 20 people attending.

This past week an inquest in Co. Cork reveled the real facts about the night Murphy, who was from Co. Waterford, died of too much alcohol consumption.

Murphy's father gave evidence at the trial and was overcome with emotion.

He spoke so fondly of his son, "Gary was a lovely, lovely lad.

"He was deeply loved by his family, his extended family and his friends.

"Gary loved life, Gary loved living in Cork and being a student at UCC," he said.

His father said Gary was a "giver and never a taker."

"Gary always wanted to give something back. I miss Gary really terribly -- he was my beloved son and a lovely, lovely lad," he added.

The inquest heard that the young student drank 11 cans of beer and a half-liter of vodka on December 6, 2009.

Murphy, a successful hurler, accepted a bet that he could "down" 250ml of vodka in one go without any diluent.

When he completed the task his friends said, "Murphy is a legend, Murphy is a legend."

It was the same friends that took his clothes off him that later noticed, after they placed him in bed, that his lips were turning blue and called an ambulance.

The inquest was told that the young man died from bronchial pneumonia and cardio-respiratory problems linked to acute alcohol intoxication.

The final inquest verdict was declared death by misadventure.

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