Call for bullying protection in Constitution

THE father of tragic teenager Phoebe Prince who took her life after being bullied in a US school said he wants to see a change to the Irish Constitution to protect other children and parents.

Jeremy Prince said he wanted Phoebe, who was just 15 when she died, to be forgotten by the media so that her sister, who has returned to live in Co Clare, can enjoy a normal life.

A fitting tribute to his eldest daughter, he said, would be to see every child in Ireland given the right to be educated free from bullying, under the constitution.

Mr Prince said lives are being damaged every day and it should not be difficult for schools to stop bullying.

Speaking to RTÉ radio he said the family had been overwhelmed by the number of letters their had received from victims of bullying.

“Years and decades on it is still affecting their lives. This is something I had never realised. School bullying can destroy people’s lives. I want people to consider what bullying actually is, it is not a single act, but persecution and that’s what leads to loss of sense of esteem and puts people in danger.”

Mr Prince said it would be very easy for schools to keep a log of people who were bullying and being bullied and tackle the issue head-on.

The father of the 15-year-old who moved to Fanore in Clare as a toddler, said he cannot bring himself to forgive six teenagers awaiting trial in the US for charges relating to his daughter’s death.

“I said publicly last summer that I was personally looking for them to admit what they had done and show some remorse. Since then there have been endless delays and no sign of any remorse so my sympathy has hardened somewhat in light of that.

“There has been absolutely no response from them or their families. I am searching for the ability to forgive but it has been made much more difficult.”

Mr Prince said he was not looking for a prison sentence for the teens, but perhaps something like community service would be a fitting punishment.

Speaking about the global media coverage of his daughter’s death, he said it was at times “intolerable”.

Phoebe’s father, originally from Britain, rubbished implications she was a troubled girl and had been bullied at her school in Co Clare.

He said very select details had been released from her medical records in order to paint a different picture of the story. This, he said was “very painful”.