Faylool wrote:Yes I agree. I think the steroids AND Tylenol were the last straw and personally I could not tolerate Valium type anti anxiety meds because they made me depressed. Withdrawing from steroid stuff is hugely depressing so he was probably yoyo-Ing there as well along with the circumstantial of being solo, weirdness of the 80s and his music and ambition and loosing Brendon and Gerry’s support, he was making a comeback anyway! Very interesting story. Part of my respect for him was that he wasn’t a doper type and didn’t screw around with groupies like so many “stars”. There is always a price to pay....you know? And I only just found him 9 or 10months ago....interviews and performances caused me to love and respect him. It’s nice to share about it. I sure feel better about my own story since finding my passion for a thing again. It means so much! Music delivered for the better reasons....pure reasons....Devine.
Interesting perspective. I may veer off topic a bit but I'll come back to it. As you stated
, " ... steroids and Tylenol [paracetamol in Europe] were the last straw ... " "[Rory] wasn't a doper type..." In years past I used to search for the links to the various interviews and statements made by Rory and those closest to him to supplement whatever I've written. That info is on the forum, so I'll not repeat it now. I never met Rory. I saw him play numerous times, those memories are burned into my soul, and I will never forget the experience. I know people who were fortunate enough to know him to varying degrees. Wish I had had the courage to walk up to him and speak, but I would have forgotten my own name most likely.

My comments are based on those interviews which I have read and seen, and from my own personal experience.
Rory was a child of his time and culture, as are we all. He grew up in a strict Catholic environment, with some of the pressures of the dominant non-Catholic cultures that surrounded him in the northern part of the country (and yes, I know, Donegal was not in Northern Ireland. But it is in the northern part of the island and opinions, prejudices, and cultural biases are not known for stopping at the border. Just ask the Hispanics who live in Southern California, north of the Mexican border about attitudes outside of lines on a map) and surely those religious pressures pushed and pulled his family and friends in different directions.
He also grew up in a culture where alcohol consumption is more than acceptable, as long as it is not to excess. His elders drank. His family owned a pub, and as I understand it, his father liked drink. That social encouragement is a slippery slope of which we in Western culture are all familiar with. Consistent with everything I have ever read about Rory, and interviews that I have heard where Donal discussed his brother, Rory was very much opposed to illegal drugs. As his talents became apparent, as he became more and more successful as a professional musician, he saw the excesses of illicit drug use of those around him. Well, he was a child of the 60s, how could one not be affected by it?
He was more than just mildly opposed to illegal drugs, he forbade his musicians, any of his employees from using them. And that included marijuana (cannabis, to this L.A. woman it will always be known as marijuana, but I digress). But in the sixties, most everyone used marijuana, including, I am certain, people around him. They just did him the courtesy of not letting him know about it.
As far as legal drugs, he had no qualms about OTC medications, like paracetamol (Tylenol), which in the 70's was advertised as being so harmless, it wouldn't even upset your stomach. There was absolutely no mention to the public about the toxic interactions with alcohol, or how even a therapeutic dose if carried on for too long a time could damage, even destroy the liver. Rory also was of the opinion that, as long as a licensed doctor prescribed a medication, it was okay to use it. After all, we trust our doctors to have our best interests at heart, don't we? And as I understand it, "natural" or "holistic" supplements were okay as well. As I heard it, toward the end, among his prescriptions he also had a store of herbal supplements as well. It isn't just Rory who had an attitude that these things were basically harmless- many people hold that belief. if a doctor prescribes it, it must be okay. If it is a supplement from a health food store, what could be healthier? If it's an Over-The-Counter, well, that must be just fine. And a corollary to that, in regard to supplements and OTCs, if one is good, two or more must be better.
Those "in the know" are aware that supplements and OTC drugs can and do have very powerful qualities, and that certain of these cannot be combined without consequence. Adding prescription meds to the gang is asking for problems, and pouring even the smallest amount of alcohol over that, God only knows what a person may unwittingly be creating and consuming- these seemingly harmless things are greater than the sum of their parts.
Add to that all the pressures Rory must have been under- He had family and numerous employees who depended on him and his ability to stay on the road and doing his job. Sure, he loved what he did for a living, and that is a big plus. To love one's work, what more could a person ask for in way of earning their daily bread. But any illness, emotional or physical, just adds to that sense of necessity. That pressure of having to do right by one's principals.
Counter-balance that with the pressures and social interactions required in his daily routine. Social drinking is more than acceptable, not just in the world of the working musician. Alcohol consumption in social settings is almost expected. As stated earlier, his family owned a pub, he was surrounded by a culture that accepted, and to some extent, encouraged social drinking. And, Rory enjoyed alcohol. Factor in years and years of pressure from the road, from the whims and follies of the music industry, and his own personal demons, well, what do you do when you have pain? If it gets bad enough, we will reach out to whatever we think will help.
Societal pressure is hard to ignore, even if you aren't particularly fond of drink. I myself am not much of a drinker. I don't much care for the taste of alcohol, to me it tastes rather like medication that has gone bad. And, I never enjoyed the "buzz" from alcohol- it always has a heavy, slow kind of feel to it- it dulls the thinking, feels as though it slows the synapses. That doesn't mean I have never consumed to excess, I certainly have. I grew up in the sixties, too. Surrounded by friends, family, coworkers who almost always provided alcohol for occasions. And any gathering of two or more people always seemed to be an occasion. I even tried to develop a taste for beer and wine. Especially beer. In my younger days, I remember tasting beer and being very repulsed by it. "Oh, you just have to acquire a taste for it," I heard that
all the time. But I tried for years, never really got past that gag reflex. There were a few that I could drink easier than others- John Courage was one, Newcastle Brown another, but even those had to be soooo cold that the tastes were diminished, and I had to drink them fast or they would just sit and get warmer. I remember my boyfriend at the time finally complaining- he was an avid beer connoisseur, but even he hit his limit with me- I'd drink maybe 1/3 of a bottle, and hand it to him to finish. "I'm sick of drinking the rest of your warm beer!" he would finally growl. I'm older now, not given to being pressured to drink "just because." But hey, I never liked the taste of alcohol to begin with, and I hate the buzz. If it tastes bad, and the feeling is icky, then it's easy for me to say, "No thanks." But you'd be surprised at the pressure of the people around me. For example, this spring I walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain, and at virtually every meal, wine or beer was offered usually for free. I would always decline. A few hosts, without asking, would pour wine at the table for me. Often, to be polite, I would drink a bit, usually leaving half or more in my glass so as to discourage anyone from offering me more. But that gag reflex- And, lest you should think I am just some goody-two-shoes who looks down on others for indulging, just hand me a diet soda and a marijuana cigarette and I will be a happy camper. The buzz from cannabis vs. the buzz from alcohol, for me? I would describe it as the difference between cruising down Pacific Coast Highway at full speed on a summer day with the windows down and the ocean breeze swirling around me vs. being stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic on an L.A. freeway during the dog days of summer, with the windows up, no A.C. and thick smoggy air choking me.
But how hard is it for someone who enjoys his beer or wine, likes the taste, or likes the feeling, or both? Rory enjoyed his alcohol. And I'm sure it flowed pretty freely. To say it is socially acceptable is an understatement, and not because he was Irish or in Ireland. Most of my experience with the pressures of social drinking come from my life here in these United States, but my time in Spain and Ireland were no different as far as attitudes. The whole of Western culture is more than accepting of drinking. For many people it is not a problem. For some it is. I don't know, but I am of the opinion that Rory was not an alcoholic as some speculate. But combine his fondness for drink with all the supplements, prescription meds, and OTC Paracetamol, and later prescription strength paracetamol, and all the pressures he was under, and it was a perfect storm. His doctors IMHO were derelict in their duties to warn him.
Post Script,
I would be remiss if I did not say that I am a very enthusiastic supporter of the decriminalization of medical cannabis. I have seen and met people who were helped by it, and I strongly believe that there are many more who could be helped, lives that could be saved, from children and adults with neurological/seizure disorders, sufferers with chronic pain, persons with cancer, many others. There are many components of the plant that scientists are only now becoming aware of, and I am of the opinion that medical cannabis probably could have helped Rory when his health began to fail. Many of the toxic substances that he was taking for his pain and illnesses could IMHO have been eliminated, and perhaps his body would have had a chance to recover. But it is all speculation at this point. Just my two cents.