Matthew (Mattie) McGrath's dad Tom and his sister Amy speak to Carmel Robinson of how cocaine ultimately killed Mattie
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00:00 Just, Tom, tell me about your son Matthew. What was he like?
00:05 The nicest young fella you could ever have met. I genuinely mean that.
00:11 Always up for a laugh, taking piss.
00:17 He just...
00:19 A word's couldn't describe him, I must be honest. Just such a nice fella. And I just think...
00:28 At his funeral, I've actually seen his mates, what they'd done. Got t-shirts printed. What
00:34 did they say on them? "Muddy, 22 forever." And his work colleagues turned up and the
00:42 same thing. The words that they had on them. Like Matthew was an apprentice reportedly
00:49 known. He wasn't even out of his time and he was taking another apprentice with him
00:59 to show him the ropes. Just an unbelievable fella. So he was a bit of a joker then?
01:06 Oh, a big joker, yeah.
01:08 And so you've got a lot of very happy memories of him over the years?
01:14 All happy memories. All happy memories. I'd say I've seen him,
01:18 and I'm his coffin, he still had that wee grin, like a wee grin on his face.
01:22 I would say I've probably known this a couple of years or shortly, or maybe a bit more than that.
01:32 Yeah.
01:32 But he has been on it for a long time, I would say for me, for the age, what do you say?
01:37 You do, you do.
01:40 Really?
01:40 Yes, couldn't be before that.
01:42 Yeah. And how did it affect him whenever he was on the cocaine?
01:46 I suppose it was probably me he opened up to first. He would have come in from being
01:56 wherever he is and he'd ring me that morning and I could just hear it in his voice. He just
02:01 sounded sad and he would just say hello and he wouldn't say much more and I'd say, "Do you want
02:05 me to come round?" and I'd come round and then the next minute the tears would come up and he would
02:12 just keep saying sorry and I'm like, "You don't need to say sorry, just let your emotions out,
02:17 like I'm here for that, just tell me what's going on." But he could never put it into words what
02:24 the drugs done to him. He was just saying it's so shit, he doesn't like it and he just doesn't
02:31 want to do it but he can't help doing it. And then I'd sit with him for hours because he'd just be
02:35 crying and I couldn't really do much. I would set him, my mum would go and talk to somebody,
02:42 he'd go, "I'll sort it out myself." And I was like, "Well, make sure you do because there's
02:47 only so much I could put him where he had to take his own step to do something towards it."
02:53 Yeah.
02:53 And then it probably would have been in the last year or so he opened up to you a bit more.
03:00 Yeah, he had to come back from town, Lurgan and mostly it would have been a Saturday night.
03:05 He'd come in and I would have been sitting here, maybe having a beer or something.
03:09 "Do you want a beer?" "Yes, I'll take one." And then I'd, "Are you still in that shit? Can you
03:16 not get off that?" And he'd actually had him sitting in that seat there and he'd come over
03:21 and he'd put the arm around me and the tears just... I can't.
03:26 He can't get off it. Yeah. It must be hard for you to hear your son in that distress.
03:34 It is, but I'd try, I'd try. He always gave you that promise.
03:39 Yeah.
03:40 And I know for a fact, a lot of his friends, he did try. He joined the gym there.
03:47 How's that? What do you call it again?
03:49 He joined the MMA, it was like a beginner's class. So him and his friends were all going,
03:54 they'd lift him and he'd go out. I think it was a Wednesday and a Saturday morning.
03:59 And he was, when he was sober, he was doing so well. You could notice the difference that way.
04:04 He was up getting to the gym only Saturday before he passed. He got up, he went to MMA,
04:10 he came home, he made a fry and then he came in to do up-down, he was like, "No, I'm all right."
04:15 He went back out to the gym again and then he went to working.
04:20 Yeah.
04:22 That was the start of the weekend.
04:23 Yeah.
04:25 And the end of his life.
04:26 The start of the weekend and the end of his life.
04:31 That's just really so sad. Had he been taking cocaine on Saturday then? Do you know?
04:37 I would assume so because he was up, so he went out Saturday and he was out the whole night and
04:46 then a few of his friends came back to my mum's house. I know my step-mom's house. And they came
04:54 back and they came in and then they were just having a crack in the living room because mum
04:58 would rather them in the house than out wherever.
05:01 In the stitch.
05:02 Yes.
05:02 And then I think they decided it would be time to wrap it up but Matthew ended up actually
05:08 going back out again on the Sunday evening and then I was in work. He rang me about half seven
05:17 and he was like, "Would you do me a lift?" I goes, "I can't, I'm in work." And his dad had went out
05:22 with his friends to the Woodville. So I was like, "Are you in town?" He said, "Yes." I goes,
05:26 "Walk down to the Woodville and I'm sure dad's getting a taxi or something."
05:29 He had rang me about, like, rough times past 22.
05:37 What he had done, I says, "Just about to get a taxi home here with Kevin and Tricia."
05:41 And he said, "Oh great, I'll get a lift home with you." So a taxi pulled up and then I can
05:47 actually remember saying to the taxi man, "Drop Kevin and Tricia home first." And then Tricia
05:52 says, "Tom McGrath, that's your son waiting on you." So he hadn't picked up first and then we
05:57 dropped him off. And then he came out, dropped him off at his mum's house. And they come in here
06:04 and as I said, I said, "Go in there, take a pint of water and get up for your work in the morning.
06:10 I'll think about it. I'll see how I feel." And then they rang you, didn't they?
06:15 They rang me and just said, "Make sure you bring him up a glass of water." So
06:19 I got home on Sunday about 11. I had finished work at about 10 and then I called in to my
06:26 boyfriend's house and then called back out here. Because he always comes home on a Sunday.
06:29 Because I normally have uni on the Monday. And I came into the house and went up to his room
06:35 and he wasn't there. And I just ran to the garage because I thought something was going to...
06:41 Yeah.
06:45 Blanton, the nice next door neighbour, Amy went to the garage and she screamed.
06:49 And he was just...
06:51 And he was at his kitchen which backs onto the garage.
06:54 Yes.
06:54 And he...
06:55 Sprinted over.
06:56 Sprinted over. Got Matthew down on CPR.
07:00 CPR. Yeah.
07:01 So how do you... I mean the priest at the funeral was absolutely amazing.
07:10 Father Macquarie that he was.
07:11 Yeah. And he said some very, very powerful words about those who are dealing drugs and have
07:18 enabled people like Matthew to get hooked on drugs like cocaine. What do you feel about that?
07:27 Well they're just... they're murderers. That's the way I would describe them.
07:34 Yeah. What would you say to the young people who maybe are currently...
07:43 Well currently, go up to a young graveyard, have a look at a headstone, a young fella 22.
07:51 Just don't do it to your family.
07:54 And think of your family, your parents.
07:58 Your own sister.
07:58 And I'm not saying Matthew did.
08:00 He did.
08:01 But he done his best and nobody forced him to take the drugs.
08:05 But when it's put in your face, try that. It's great. It's great.
08:12 Once or twice a year.
08:13 Yeah. So how would you like Matthew to be remembered?
08:20 Well we'll always remember him in some post.
08:26 He just... he would have done anything for anybody.
08:29 If he had a penny left in his bank and I needed it, he would have been straight up.
08:34 If you never got your 21st card but you got it.
08:37 He has the card and he had the card in his room. He just hadn't filled it out yet.
08:40 But he would have sent me money.
08:42 Yeah. And he would have sent me...
08:43 If I'd asked for anything, he would have sent me it.
08:46 Or if I needed a lift anywhere, anytime, he would have been out.
08:51 He just... he would have given me the skin off his back.
08:54 You know what, I would just like to put a message out to all young ones.
08:58 To think before... don't even try that once.
09:04 You'll hear people say "It's great. It does this. It does that."
09:10 It'll put you in a hole in the ground. It'll bring you down with depression.
09:13 When you're not getting it, just don't try.
09:17 Don't do it. Just don't.
09:19 And this has left your family absolutely shattered.
09:23 It has, yeah.
09:23 Thank you for talking to me.
09:29 You're more than welcome, my love.
09:31 We can...
09:32 Save one.
09:34 Save one life.