ERIN GALLAGHER
THE grandfather of bullied Co Donegal schoolgirl Erin Gallagher wept in a TV interview as he described losing his granddaughter to suicide.
James Gallagher spoke out during an interview with TV3’s MidWeek programme last night.
Erin, who would have been 14 today, took her own life 12 days ago after being bullied online, on her phone and at school.
“We’ve got to make people understand that this is serious. This is not a wee fight in the school,” said her granda James.
“There’s all different types of abuse so physically you can see what happens but mentally you can’t.
“When a person gets mental abuse, it’s torture. They (the bullies) can get you everywhere, they can get you 24/7.
James, with Lorraine at Erin's funeral
“At the end of the day it’s too much for her and she can’t handle it.”
He said his family had been offered professional help since Erin’s death.
“It’s too late, they should have been here to help Erin, not us,” said Mr Gallagher during a heart-breaking interview.
“We don’t want to see this happening to anyone else,” he said.
He called for proper training for all teachers throughout the country on how to deal with bullying and abuse.
Asked by reporter Ciara Doherty about Erin, James fought back tears as he said: “She was a really amazing child, she was funny and caring and she would give you anything, she had lots and lots of friends…it’s such a waste, a waste of a life.”
Mayor Frank McBrearty repeated his calls for calm and asked for an independent inquiry into the Erin’s death.
Reporter Ciara Doherty said on the programme that she had been approached by the father of one of the girls accused online of bullying Erin.
She said he told her he was “furious” at how the case had been reported and that his child was now being bullied.
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