‘The fright of my life’: Mother speaks out after son, 5, picks up syringe with drugs near Cork playground “I got the fright of my life, put him into the car and brought him straight up to Cork University Hospital (CUH),” Jade Millar said. Tue, 08 Sep, 2026 – 11:47Olivia Kelleher
A mother has expressed concern after her five-year-old son picked up a syringe containing heroin and blood near a playground at The Lough in Cork city.
Jade Millar contacted The Opinion Line on 96FM in relation to the incident which occurred last Friday afternoon.
She said that her son Ben took the rubber cap off the needle and started spraying the contents.
Shortly afterwards a bag containing heroin, multiple needles, and packets of prescription tablets was found discarded in a nearby hedge.
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“My neighbour saw him (Ben) with a needle in his hand. The syringe had blood and liquid in it, and he was squeezing it.
“Obviously my neighbour shouted, ‘Ben, drop that now!’
“I got the fright of my life, put him into the car and brought him straight up to Cork University Hospital (CUH).”
She said that the syringe was full of blood and liquid.
“There was a rubber cap on the top which he (Ben) took off and was spraying it.”
Ms Millar said she was very upset when drugs and drugs paraphernalia were subsequently recovered from a nearby hedge.
“There was a bag of drugs just in the hedge, literally not even hidden in the hedge. It was just at the side of the hedge and there were needles, drugs and a lot of tablets. There was heroin, a lot of needles, and about five or six packs of tablets.”
Ms Millar checked to see if were there any signs of needle pricks on the legs and feet of her son.
“They checked him in CUH. They think he didn’t prick any skin. I’m so angry.
“Ben is okay now but we have to watch him for two weeks.
“He was lucky because it would be a completely different story if the needle had gone into his skin.”
Ms Millar has contacted gardaí in relation to the incident.
Meanwhile, she fears that open drug activity is moving out of Cork city centre and into the suburbs.
“I think there are so many guards in the city at the moment.
“I do think these places like by The Lough and Turner’s Cross and other places need to be patrolled by guards. They (drug users) are all going out of the city centre now.”
Ms Millar told 96FM’s Paul Byrne she fears there is an ongoing risk to the welfare of children in The Lough area.
“I think something serious will happen. You know, there’s so many children playing around at The Lough. All it takes is for them to stand on one (syringe) and the pin going into their foot.”
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