Alex Coughlan's Sister Holding His Hand As He Dies In Hospital Zara said she heard her mam shout "don't you tell me my son is dead" when she was delivered the news that Alex had died from his injuries. In a heartbreaking interview with the Irish Mirror, Alex Coughlan'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'. 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.” 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. 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. When talking about 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.” "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.” Continued in comments