diff --git a/internal/ircserver/relay.go b/internal/ircserver/relay.go
index 2275adc..2933410 100644
--- a/internal/ircserver/relay.go
+++ b/internal/ircserver/relay.go
@@ -32,8 +32,12 @@ func (c *Conn) relayMessages(ctx context.Context) {
 		// still signals waitCh.
 		waitCh := c.brk.Wait(c.sessionID)
 
-		// Drain any available messages.
-		delivered := c.drainQueue(ctx)
+		// Drain any available messages. The drain ignores the
+		// cancel that comes when the connection ends, because a
+		// query cancelled while it runs leaves the SQLite
+		// connection marked broken, and the pool closes it. The
+		// loop still stops on ctx.
+		delivered := c.drainQueue(context.WithoutCancel(ctx))
 
 		if delivered {
 			c.brk.Remove(c.sessionID, waitCh)