Actor Daniel ‘Dano’ Doyle has died from an apparent drug overdose in prison.
The actor, who was dating Love Island star Shannen Reilly McGrath, was rushed to Dublin’s Mater Hospital after being found unresponsive in his cell, and had reportedly been on life support. He died earlier today, June 25.
Doyle, 31, was jailed for two years in February after being caught with hundreds of ectasy tablets, the Independent reports.
The actor had been featuring in the fifth series of RTE drama Love/Hate, filmed on location in his native Ballymun, Dublin.
However, less than a month after appearing on the TV show, Doyle was arrested by Irish police with 446 tablets, identified as MDMA, on him as well as a large amount of cash.
Police also found drug paraphernalia, including syringes and scales, in Doyle’s bedroom.
The actor pleaded guilty to possession of drugs for sale or supply, and was given a two-year sentence in February 2018.
Doyle was left fighting for his life on June 15 after being found unresponsive in his prison cell at Dublin’s Mountjoy Prison.
After being treated by paramedics at the scene, Doyle was taken to hospital where efforts to save his life continued.
Doyle had been dating Shannen Reilly McGrath, 24, who appeared as a contestant on Love Island in 2017.
According to The Sun, Shannen took to Instagram after learning her boyfriend had been taken to hospital.
She wrote:
We have had our ups and downs but you can’t help who you fall in love with or who you love.
I never ever stopped loving Dano no matter what happened between us. So I don’t care what anyone’s opinions are.
I was back with him before this devastating news and I’d do anything in the world for him. I am praying he fights his way through this.
He is a fighter and I know he can. We’ve too much planned and he’s too much to live for.
In another post, she added:
He’s the love of my life and always will be. I’ve never loved anyone the same I love him and no one has and will never compare to him.
Please pull through, I am begging God to fix this mess if there is one up above.
I love you and I know you know just how much I do.
Shannen, a model from Dublin, entered the villa last year but failed to impress viewers and lasted only a week on the show.
Before entering the villa, Shannen said:
A lot of people have said to me in the past that I have something, that I’ve just got ‘it’.
And I don’t know what ‘it’ is but I do think I have something about me, maybe a different aura and personality so it’s not just outer image, I do have a nice inside as well.
Friends and family have expressed their condolences on social media.
One person wrote:
Thinking of Diane, all the Doyle family & friends today such heartbreaking news rest in peace Dano.
Another person wrote:
Wishing it was all dream thank f*** for good mates Dano bro, we will love you forever bro, to many stories we haven’t stopped laughing over you.
Yea don’t know how much I love you we love you, forever in our hearts bro.
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.