Funeral of young Matthew to be held

Matthew was found at a house in the Cline Road area of the town at 6.30 on Friday evening.

Another man in the house was taken to hospital, where - as the Leader went to press - he is said to be in a stable condition.

A funeral service will take place at William Bell and Co. Funeral Home, Kenlis Street at 12 noon. Interment will take place in the New Cemetery.

The family have asked in lieu of flowers for donations to be made to the Drugs Rehabiliatation Centre.

Meanwhile, a police spokesperson said their investigation into Mr Dougan’s death was at the “very early stages” as officers were still awaiting the results of a post-mortem and toxicology tests. The spokesperson did not rule out a possible drugs link to Mr Dougan’s death.

Cline Road residents are now calling on local authorities and public representatives to use all their power to clamp down on drugs in the area. Upper Bann DUP MLA Stephen Moutray said the young man’s death had been the “sole subject” of conversation in the area since his death on Friday evening.

Mr Moutray said: “The death of this young man has gone right to the very core of the community and I would extend my heartfelt sympathies to the family and friends on their great loss. My thoughts are also with the young man who was admitted to hospital.” Upper Bann SDLP MLA Delores Kelly said she “felt for the family of this young man who are left with so many questions”. Upper Bann Assembly Member John O’Dowd and his Sinn Féin Colleagues Cllr Pol Ó Gribbin and Cllr Brendan Curran also expressed sympathy. “The circumstances around this incident are as yet unclear but we should all be conscious of the sadness and trauma that a totally unexpected death brings. Our sympathy goes out to them,” they said.