Teenage girl who collapsed outside concert at 3Arena died from ecstasy overdose, inquest hears

Thousands of young people were attending a performance by techno DJ, BLK, in the 3Arena on the evening.

The opening of the inquest into the teenager’s death at Dublin District Coroner’s Court on Wednesday heard she was brought to the Mater hospital by ambulance but was pronounced dead a short time later at 18 minutes past midnight on March 18.

The coroner, Aisling Gannon, said the results of the autopsy on the deceased’s body confirmed she had died from “acute MDMA toxicity”. MDMA, which is commonly known as ecstasy, is a controlled drug regularly associated with raves and dance clubs.

Ms Gannon said the postmortem showed there were no other contributory factors in Aoibhe’s death.

Aoibhe’s mother, Sarah Quinn, gave evidence of being present in the Mater hospital when her former partner, Garrett Martin, formally identified his daughter’s body to gardaí.

The inquest heard Mr Martin was unable to attend the hearing due to circumstances beyond his control.

Sergeant Adrian Kildea gave evidence he was alerted to an unresponsive female being given CPR by emergency crews outside the 3Arena.

Sgt Kildea said inquiries had established Aoibhe’s identity and he met her parents at the hospital.

Detective Inspector Ken Hoare applied for an adjournment of the inquest under Section 25 (1) of the Coroners Act on the basis criminal proceedings were under consideration in relation to the teenager’s death.

Det Insp Hoare informed the coroner a criminal investigation was ongoing but he expected a file on the case would be forwarded to the DPP “in a number of weeks”. 

The coroner granted the application and adjourned the hearing for mention until May 28, 2025.

Offering her condolence and sympathy to the teenager’s relatives, Ms Gannon noted they had “suffered a terrible bereavement”.