‘She was a lovely girl who never did any harm’

Erin Gallagher’s mother has spoken of the last few hours she spent with her daughter before the 13-year-old took her own life.

The second-year pupil at Finn Valley College was found dead at her home in Ballybofey, Co Donegal, on Saturday.

Erin took her own life just hours after posting messages on a social networking site saying she was being bullied.

She then revealed on the website ask.fm how she was going to take her life. Gardaí are understood to be investigating the link between the bullying and her death.

At a relation’s home in Killygordon, Lorraine, 36, revealed she had watched a film with her daughter hours before the tragedy.

“We had a takeaway and some sweets and she seemed fine.”

Lorraine, who is from Stirling in Scotland, said she was aware of the difficulties her daughter had been having.

“It had been really bad but it seemed like she was getting better. The bullying was going on since the summer but got much worse when she got back to school.

“It was just three girls who used to be her friends who fell out with her and just started bullying her everywhere. She was bullied in school, on Facebook, and through messages on her phone. I tried to get help from the school and spoke to them about it,” she said.

Things got so bad that Lorraine contacted the gardaí. “The guards said if there was no proof or if she wasn’t being physically touched by the bullies there was nothing they could do.”

Lorraine paid a simple tribute to Erin, who would have turned 14 on Nov 14. “She was beautiful, a lovely, lovely girl who never did anyone any harm in her life.”

The school has reacted swiftly to put measures in place to cope with the fallout from the death. Principal Frank Dooley liaised with the HSE and other bodies and launched a critical incident management plan.

Yesterday, nine counsellors and other health professional including psychologists met with parents and staff. Mr Dooley, who taught Erin last year, revealed he had spoken to her last Wednesday and said she seemed in good form.

“She was a very good pupil and always very pleasant. The last time I spoke to her was on Wednesday. We are a small school and we have a good personal relationship with all pupils.

“Within all schools when you are dealing with teenagers there is fragility and friction. Children think they are adults and they are not but we have to deal with that.”

He said this and other such incidents must encourage the Government to move to address the dangers connected with the internet. “The bottom line is that four out of five pupils these days have smart phones and they are computers.

“We have pupils for seven hours each day and we can monitor the use of these devices but parents and other relations also have a role to play.”

Erin will be waked at her aunt Myra Sweeney’s house at Dromore Park, Killygordon. Her funeral Mass will take place tomorrow at 11am at St Mary’s Church in Stranorlar before burial at Castlefin Cemetery.

Erin is survived by her mother Lorraine, sister Shannon and brother Sean James.

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