The grieving family of a teen who died by suicide after remorseless bullying have revealed she named her abusers in a letter before her death.
Mia O’Neill, 16, from Newport, Co Tipperary, was found dead by her mother at her home last month after suffering horrific racial insults.
Her devastated grandfather Willie said his “heart is breaking” and he has a “knot in his stomach” after losing his first granddaughter in such a senseless manner.
However, her family have said they will not go on a “witch hunt” against the bullies – and are instead setting up a foundation in the girl’s name to provide a supportive environment to
vulnerable teens.
Fighting back tears, Willie said: “It’s hard to talk about Mia in the past tense. My heart is breaking for what happened to her, the bullying especially.
“Mia loved me and I loved her. It breaks my heart. I hate having to go the graveyard to visit her.
“She was very special. She loved the ground I walked on. I knew that. Just the way I loved her.”
The teenager who had dreams of becoming a make-up artist always took the time to speak to the homeless.
Willie said: “I went to collect her in John’s Square and she was over talking to rough sleepers.
“She told me they all have issues and this is why she sat among them and spoke with them.
“She knew every one of them by their name. It was her nature.
“She looked after other people but not herself. People were so mean to her.”
The O’Neills found tremendous reserves of strength to set up the One Life Trust, the name reflecting a tattoo Mia had.
The family has identified a building in Newport, and hopes to provide a safe space for children aged from 12 to 18.
Mia’s uncle Marc said: “It’s a living nightmare. We’ll never get over this. The only thing we can do is take positive steps for the future youth of Ireland.
“We don’t want to see another child suffer at the hands of a failing system, or the hands of
a bully, or at the hands or something that could be stopped.
“It’s still very raw. But we are trying to put our energy into something good.
“It was Mia’s month’s mind on Thursday and you could see with the kids coming together, how compassionate and supportive they were to one another.
“But there’s another side to that, where you can see how ugly, negative and horrible people can be to one another.” Mia was mixed-race, and this was also a cause of her being bullied, according to her family.
She was diagnosed with an emotional regulation disorder and had self-harmed after being targeted. Mia suffered mental health issues since she was 12 and had used the services of CAMHS, the HSE and Pieta House.
But Marc said she was “failed” by a system which is “flawed.”
