- Music
- 01 Oct 18
19-year-old music fan Joe Hayes tragically died while attending the Boxed Off festival during the weekend. The cause of death is still unknown.
The Boxed Off festival which describes itself as "Ireland's largest one-day electronic music festival", took place at the Fairyhouse Racecourse in Meath on Saturday night.
It's understood that Joe Hayes took ill at the end of the night while leaving the festival and was rushed to James Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown but was sadly pronounced dead on Sunday morning.
A spokesperson for the Boxed Off music festival said: "We are very saddened to say that as people were leaving Boxed Off Festival a 19-year-old man became unwell.
"The onsite medical team including an emergency doctor and advanced paramedics treated the man on site. He was then transferred to James Connolly Hospital by one of the onsite ambulances. Despite the efforts of all medical teams the young man tragically passed away early this morning.
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"The whole festival team is devastated by the news. We will continue to work closely with An Garda Síochána on this matter. We have no further information at this time. All our thoughts are with his family and friends."
A friend of Joe's told the Irish Daily Mirror this morning: “We’re doing OK thanks. Please let everyone know that he was a wonderful person and no one has ever had a bad word to say about him. Everyone he met loved him and he will never be forgotten.”
— Boxed Off (@BoxedOffFest) September 30, 2018
A garda spokesman said: "Gardaí at Ashbourne, Co Meath, are investigating a sudden death in Ratoath, Co Meath this morning Sunday, September 30th 2018.
"A 19-year-old male complained of feeling unwell. He received medical attention at the scene and was taken to Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown. He was pronounced dead in the early hours of this morning. A file will now be prepared for the local coroner. Investigations are continuing."
A group of Joe's friends have now started up a Gofundme page to pay for his funeral. The page reads: “Trying to raise money for our friend Joe’s funeral. For anyone who knew Joe you will know how good of a person he was and how much he thought about everyone else around him.
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“We are devastated to lose our best friend at such a young age so unexpectedly. The more money we raise the better the send off we can give him and he deserves nothing but the best.”
The Boxed Off festival first started in 2015 and has gone on to host some of the biggest names in electronic music such as Jeff Mills, Nina Kraviz, Len Faki, Patrick Topping and Hot Since 82.