Sunday Mirror: BLINDED E-HORROR TEENAGER AT MATE'S FUNERAL

THE teenager who gouged out his own eye in a drug-fuelled frenzy faced the public yesterday as he attended a pal's funeral.

Alan Smith wore dark glasses to conceal his horrific injury as he walked solemnly behind the hearse of his good friend, Daragh Kelly, who died of an asthma attack.

Yesterday, gardai revealed they know the dealer who sold the drugs to the tragic teenager and expect to make an arrest soon.

Smith, 19, freaked out during a drug-induced rage and tried to gouge out both eyes out with a pair of pliers.

He was convinced his head was full of RATS and pals were too late to stop him from plucking out one eye.

He had to be physically held down to stop him pulling out his second eye at a house party.

Smith, who has not been seen in public since the horror in Bray in September, went to the funeral in Greystones church and the nearby graveyard in Co. Wicklow.

But he did not join his friends after the funeral for a drink at the Beach House Bar in the town.

One officer involved in the case said: "We are following a strong lead in this case. We expect someone to be charged over the next couple of days.

"We have been questioning people who were at the party in Bray and the people who live in the house.

"Several people are being questioned at the moment who we believe could be involved in drug-dealing in the area.

"The young man took three e-tablets but we believe he mixed them with other drugs. We are determined to catch the dealer who sold him those drugs.

"Until then we can't say where the house party was held."

The young man's family were absent from their luxury detached home in the exclusive Mounthaven Estate in Greystones earlier this week.

The father, who owns a kitchen fitting business in Kilcoole, Co. Wicklow, returned to the house briefly on Friday afternoon.

People living in the close-knit seaside town are reluctant to speak about the horrendous case.

One shocked neighbour said: "This is a terrible thing for any family to have to go through, they are all completely devastated.

"I'm sure the boy is getting treatment and the family are trying to escape from the attention.

"He's a lovely boy - it just shows you how dangerous drugs are.

"The dealers selling the drugs to these young people must be caught and stopped."

One teenager who was at the party that night said nobody knew what was happening until it was too late.

He added: "We're all shocked and devastated, none of us can believe this has happened.

"We were just there to have a good time, then this - I still can't believe it's all real.

"We all feel guilty but there was nothing we could have done to save him - it took five guys holding him down to stop him taking out his other eye."

Director of the drug awareness programme Crosscare, Chris Murphy warned there could be a batch of ecstasy going around Dublin laced with LSD.

He said: "I have worked in the drugs awareness field for 21 years and in that time I have only come across two cases of hallucinogenic episodes in relation to ecstasy.

"It is likely this young man took ecstasy that was mixed with LSD or ketamine. Or he may have taken a mixture of drugs that brought on hallucination.

"Anyone who takes drugs is just playing Russian Roulette."