Peter Dolan to appear on TV to highlight ‘dark side of drinking’

“THEY threw Enda onto the side of the road, like a bag of rubbish…”

These are the heart-breaking words of Peter Dolan, who will soon be appearing on a TV documentary to talk about the darker side of drinking culture, the sharp rise in alcohol-related deaths in the North, and the harrowing night that he was told his beloved son, Enda, had died after being struck by a drunken van driver, who was driving at speed.

Part of the UTV’s ‘Up Close’ current affairs programme, Peter is set to feature, alongside health experts, community workers, those who are overcoming alcoholism, and victims of alcohol-related crime, in the episode ‘Last Orders’, airing next Tuesday (May 31) on UTV, at 10.45pm.

During a moving interview in the programme, hosted by reporter, Sarah Clarke, Peter recounted how events unfolded for him and his family on the night that Edna was knocked down as he made his way to his halls of residence at Queen’s University, Belfast.

Police brought Mr Dolan and his wife, Niamh, from Omagh to the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, where they were told that Enda had been struck at speed by a van, the driver having been drinking heavily all day.

He describes the ‘very horrible image’ of Enda lying on a trolley in a small room in the hospital.

Peter also describes to Sarah how the driver, David Lee Stewart, was three-and-a-half-times over the legal limit, and how he and his passenger failed to call an ambulance after they had knocked him down.

Peter successfully campaigned for a longer sentence when David Lee Stewart was convicted but despite his sentence being extended, he was caught drink driving again after his release.

Wanting to create a lasting legacy from the tragedy, we see Peter at the end of his interview visiting Enda’s old school, Omagh Christian Brothers, educating pupils about the dangers of drink driving.

Also interviewed in the programme is Alex Best, former wife of George Best who talks about life with George and her own drink driving conviction which she described as ‘devastating’.

Tony Curry, UTV programmes editor, has expressed his thanks to Peter for being part of the programme, and for sharing, with such dignity, his very personal pain in losing his son.

“We hope that his interview and those of the other contributors will help the viewer see the damage caused not only to health and wellbeing but also to others when alcohol is misused,” he said.

• ‘Up Close – Last Orders’ will air on Tuesday, May 31, on UTV at 10.45pm, and you can catch up afterwards on www.itv.com/utprogrammes.