The mother and sister of fatal assault victim Alex Coughlan say they won’t ever forget how “cruelly his life was taken from him.” In a heartbreaking interview with the Irish Mirror today, Alex’s mother Brigid and sister Zara spoke at length about the kind and caring son and brother they knew – and how they want him to be remembered “for who he was, not just what happened to him.” Tragic Bupa worker Alex (37) was found unconscious on the Mill Road in Blanchardstown on
May 17th – and was ultimately pronounced dead in hospital three days later. Two boys are currently before the District Court charged with assault and for the theft of his bank cards and a €300 gold ring. Speaking for the first time today, Alex’s devastated mother Brigid and his sister Zara told of a young man who put others first, was the planner of every family event, loved his walks, friends and teaching others. “We want to keep Alex’s name out there. We need justice
for Alex. My son has been brutally taken away from his family and we’ll never ever be the same,” his mother said. “He loved a little party and loved being with people. Loved telling his little jokes and making us all laugh. There’s no words to describe how much Alex is missed. There never will be. It’s very quiet now without him.” They also recalled the harrowing moment gardaí called to their Dublin home after Alex was found in a critical condition on May 17th.
“I heard my Mam shouting ‘don’t you tell me my son is dead,’ Zara said. “There were two police officers asking ‘is your son Alexander Coughlan?’ And they wouldn’t tell us any more than that. They just said we need to get all of you to the hospital as soon as you can. When they got us to the hospital they told us that we needed to gather any other close family member. We just knew that when they wanted all the family together that
it wasn’t looking good.” Speaking about that horrific moment and ultimately seeing her son in hospital Brigid added: “It was shocking. It was one doorbell ring no one ever wants to get. No mother ever wants to see her son battered.” As the family await the court’s process, they are now trying to come to terms with what happened to Alex – who they believe was making his way to the local Tesco when he was assaulted. The always caring “gentleman,” was in the process
of planning a night out for his mother’s birthday before the tragedy occurred. “We are finding it very difficult to get our heads around it. He was just a healthy young man minding his own business and a very welcoming person to everybody. For him to be taken in such a cruel way, for someone who hadn’t a cruel bone in his body, is very hard to comprehend,” Zara said. “He had it planned that while my Mam was away for her birthday that when
she came back he rang her to say ‘look I didn’t see you for your birthday, we’re going to go to the Thai Garden in Blanch village and I’m bringing you out. That was supposed to happen the Thursday after he was found.” Zara told how her brother was always planning family events – and the happiness of others was constantly on his mind. “Him and my cousin Rachel grew up together. It was her birthday there on the 10th of May. So he went
to Tesco and he got two barbecues, loads of food, a few drinks and he called up here and we all had a big barbecue. That was the last time I saw him,” she said. Alex was a lover of his walks, she said, and his calm nature made everyone who knew him feel welcome. “He walked everywhere. There’s a forest area that came from his house in the Mills by the 12th Locke and he used to walk down there and come up through
Blanch village. He cleaned out the whole forest during covid and he used to just walk through there all the time to make sure it was kept tidy and looked after,” Zara explained. “He had two housemates. He was the lease owner but he had been living there for about 15 years. He was just very welcoming, funny, and calm. He had just such a calm presence about him and made everybody feel welcomed.” Paying tribute to her older brother, Zara told how he taught
her so many things. “He was the funniest person that I knew. I feel like a lot of my humour comes from just being around Alex. He was very witty, quick with his wit and he was very clever. He knew everything about everything. He loved history. He brought me and my brother into town one year during Easter Sunday to see the parade and just bring us around and show us all about the Irish history of town. He loved being knowledgeable about everything
and teaching other people.” Alex was also a ‘father figure’ to a young child who lived at his apartment complex. “There was a little boy who actually lived in the apartment complex with Alex. There was one day when Alex was coming in from work and was about three and playing football in the car park. He kicked the ball to Alex and he kicked it back and they played a little bit and it became a regular thing then that he’d kick the ball
to Alex when he came in. Then when he got to about four or five he started knocking for Alex to come out and play with him. Alex was friends with his mother and they were from Ethiopia,” Zara said. “She didn’t have much English back then and so Alex taught her a bit of English and helped him with his homework because she couldn’t do that. “He used to bring him to school, pick him up from school and bring him to matches. They
grew a real good father son bond. He’s only 11 or 12 now and he’s lost his first father figure that he’s ever really known. He’s heartbroken.” The family told how the popular young man had friends from China, Denmark and Poland, and he was often the one who brought laughter in the family home. “He was really the life and soul of every room he was in, every family get together. He was the organiser. “I don’t think we’ve really wrapped our heads around
it. We’ll never really come to terms with the fact that he’s gone. He used to ring us up and say right who’s free on this day, we’re going to have a barbeque. He was just a planner. He used to pop into me all the time and we’d watch a movie,” Zara said. “He was just always very present and always made time for everybody. You’d ring Alex spontaneously and he’d drop everything and be there.” Alex’s mother, who Zara says has been incredibly
strong through such unimaginable grief, said she wants people to know how kind and generous her son was. “I’d like Alex to be remembered as an upstanding member of society, hardworking, gentle, loving guy. He loved his life, loved his walks, loved his little train journeys into work. There’s no words really to be honest. But I would describe him as a kind, generous gentleman. Always smiling and laughing,” she said. The horrific memory of that knock on the door and seeing Alex lying in
his hospital bed will sadly linger with the family forever, they said. “I still feel like I’m on that day. I don’t think any of us have moved from that day. We’re still living it every single day,” Zara said. “That memory of being in that car, that hospital and seeing him for the first time is something I’ll never be able to forget and that’s why I want to try and remember Alex for who he was and not what happened to him. “It’s
very hard when this is happening to not be thinking about how cruelly his life was taken and we just don’t want it to overshadow the beautiful life that he did love and have and share with all of us. “That’s the saddest part is that he really loved his life. He was proud of his apartment, he kept it beautiful. He was happy with his job, proud of his family and friends. He always spoke so highly of everyone in his life. He had
just recently made his biggest sale in Bupa and he was so proud of it. He was just really really happy with where his life was at. “He was just funny and charming and had a way of getting what he wanted.” Thinking back on her childhood memories of Alex, Zara told how her brother, who was eight years her senior, was in many ways a father figure to her too. “He really treated me like I was his little child himself. He brought me
to the cinema for the first time. So to go on now in life without him and his advice and his outlook and his opinion is just going to be a massive loss.” This week a court heard that a post-mortem established that Alex suffered “traumatic” head and neck injuries. The boys who are charged cannot be named because they are minors. They were refused bail and are currently on remand. Objecting to bail and citing the seriousness of the case, Garda Sergeant Emma Ryan
told the court that Alex Coughlan had injuries to his neck area, scrapes to his knees and elbows, which corroborated that he was on his knees pleading with his attacker and he had “no defensive injuries”. The court also heard of footage of the alleged assault that “showed the deceased on his knees begging for his life, before the selfie camera shows the teenager’s face”. It also heard that it was allegedly an arranged meeting set up under false pretences for the purpose of committing
robbery and extortion offences and no other motive. The Garda Sergeant told the court that Alex was walking down the road before he was blocked. The second teenager punched him and he fell. He got up and tried to run but received further kicks and punches. It was alleged the co-accused told him, “I will smash the f**k out of you”, you f**king little b***h” and the 16-year-old bail applicant told him to give him his gold ring. His bank cards were used in local
shops minutes later, and a ring given to Alex Coughlan by his father was taken and worn by the 16-year-old. The sergeant said the boy still had it on him at the time of his arrest. She also said a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions in relation to bringing a more serious charge. Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
Alex Coughlan, Mill Road Blanchardstown, fatal assault, District Court, minors on remand, traumatic head injuries, bank cards theft, gold ring, Brigid Coughlan, Zara Coughlan, Bupa worker, Garda Sergeant Emma Ryan