READ: Full statement of heartbroken parents of Laois teen killed in quad crash

An inquest into the death of Laois teenager David Brown took place in Portlaoise yesterday. 

The 15 year-old died when a quad crashed at Ballyshaneduff, Ballybrittas on April 9, 2023.

His uncle Justin Brown read the following statement on behalf of David's parents Carmel and James:

Today is a sad day for us but it’s just one in so many sad days we have had to live through since David’s tragic death. The day David died our lives changed forever. WE come here today with shattered hearts. But even in these dark moments we have been aided in our journey through grief by the wonderful thoughts, prayers and wishes given to us by so many friends, family, the Community of Portlaoise and indeed in many cases complete strangers. We want to thank all those people who have been there for us and who continue to help us through  the dark, painful journey we are on, a journey we didn’t expect to be on but one we must endure together as a family. David left our home with a PlayStation in his bag on the Saturday. That was our last image of him. The next time we saw him he was lying motionless in the back of an ambulance. We live with the consequences of these events. Our life has become dark but we really have to be strong for Conor and Sarah. We feel so powerless over their grief. They have lost their brother and we cannot take away that pain.

David was just a gentleman, so full of life. David had a great sense of humour with a spirit for adventure. From a young age David’s kindness and empathy was always shining through. He was polite and mannerly.  We get some consolation that one of David’s last interactions with adults was such a positive one. Elaine in the garage described how David held the door open for an elderly customer and wished her a Happy Easter. In her statement she described how he was very polite, friendly and smiled as he left the shop. 

He was bright and always had a curious mind with a big smile on his face. He was always happy and carefree, never in a hurry always going at his own pace. We hate that we won’t see David going to his Debs, getting married. All the birthdays and occasions we will never get to share because of this accident. There is such a void in our house. We are barely existing from day to day. We always protected David but we couldn’t protect David that day. The endless days and nights since David has left us has been horrendous. When we see a group of teenagers wearing GAA jerseys carrying hurls it is heart wrenching. Going to GAA matches where David’s was happiest takes so much out of us. Friendships were such a huge part of life and now we see David’s friends group without him. 

Are they’re lessons to be learned from David’s untimely death? We hope so. On the most basic level we would encourage parents to make the most of every minute of your children’s lives with you. It is a heartbeat, an all too brief moment in time. Tell them you love them even when you want to cry over something they’ve done, look for and encourage their gifts, be their heroes because you are.

David died as the result of a tragic accident involving a racing quad bike. These are not toys, they are potentially and in our case sadly literally lethal weapons especially in the hands of young people. If we don’t accept that responsibility there will be more David’s, more families who will have to endure the terrible, life changing and endless loss we feel today and every day. When Judge Cody said he didn’t want to read about this in the future little did we know we would be reading about it – and it would be about our beloved David’s tragic accident. We are also thinking today of David’s cousin and friend Johnny. We know it has been difficult for him too. 

David will live in our hearts each day. He blessed our lives immeasurably. He never leaves our minds. We can do nothing only say how much we love him and miss him every day. As his parents the biggest loss for us though is for everything that David won’t get to do in this world. David loved life and we know he would have made the most of every opportunity he got. Sadly that is not now to be.