A Cavan woman says he is heartbroken that she could not protect her teenage son from bullies.
18-year-old Eden Heaslip took his own life on September 20th after suffering from months of physical and online bullying.
His family is now issuing an appeal for new laws to tackle bullying and harassment to be introduced in order combat the struggles of thousands of children and teens at the hands of bullies.
Chloe Heaslip first described describing Eden on the Joe Finnegan Show on Shannonside Northern Sound.
“He always stood up for people and if someone was being mean to anybody else he’d stand up and he took it to heart as well.
He was really caring, and if I was hurt or if I wasn't having a good day he’d come in and ask. If I was just having a quiet time he would come in and ask if I was ok.
He had an apprenticeship, he was starting an apprenticeship, he got that recently and he was going to be a mechanic.”
Eden from Carrickaboy in Cavan had just turned 18 when he took his own life.
He was subjected to bullying online through social media, facing abuse in and outside of school.
He shared some of the details of the physical abuse he faced with his father Ray:
"They would just kick him all the time. He says ‘never one, Dad, always three to four’.
He says ‘I can handle one-to-one but it's always three to four.’ Fall to the ground they would kick him on the ground, and one of the things he couldn't understand when they were kicking him, they would say ‘go home to your own country you black Protestant bastard,’
And Daddy he says ‘they put my head down the toilet’. And I said ‘what do you mean?’
He said on a regular occurrence, 'a group of lads would get me and stick my head down the toilet and never a clean one. They would always pick the dirtiest, shittiest one to do it and they would stand and laugh’."
His mother Maggie Heaslip told the Joe Finnegan Show that parents need to open up to their children about bullying and its devastating impact :
"Eden can’t die in vain. Every parent has to talk to their child, because I thought I could protect Eden, I’m his mother, I thought could keep him alive forever, he was my baby.
I can't imagine another mother sitting here, but I am in pain today because it's not right.
Something has to be done about it, it's going on everywhere and every place, so we just have to talk. That's it, just talk to your children, please".
The Heaslip family are calling on politicians to bring forward legislation making bullying a criminal offence.
Christine Wynne the co-ordinator of SOSAD in Cavan says that more young people are presenting with serious bullying cases.
She says that legislation is vital in dealing with the devastating effects of bullying:
Suicide intervention charities are urging people to reach out for support.
Pamela Devaney works with North West STOP, which offers free counselling to people in crisis.
Pamela's daughter benefited Dialectical Behavioral Therapy which is used to treat suicidal and other self-destructive behaviors, when she attempted suicide on two occasions.
She says that counselling can save lives, but more should be done in schools to teach children some of those skills:
You can the Samaritans at 116 123 for support, or North West Stop run a text service at Free Counselling Call/Text to 086 7772009.
You can hear the full interview here
