Anguish about Irish school bullying suicide hits community

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A tribute to Phoebe Prince, who was due to visit Ireland last week.

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Last week TV crews interviewed students at the school about the bullying. Right afterwards, a bully approached a girl who had spoken up, pushing her against a locker and hitting her on the head.

A high school parent, Darby O’Brien, said people were too shocked to react. “Things like this aren’t supposed to happen in South Hadley,’’ he told Boston.com. “And so instead of confronting the evil among us, the reality that there are bullies roaming the corridors at South Hadley High, people are blaming the victim, looking for excuses why a 15-year-old girl would do this. People are in denial.’’

O’Brien said he was concerned the bullies still held sway at the school. “How many kids haven’t come forward to tell what they know because they see the bullies walking around untouched?’’ he asked. “What kind of message does this send to the good kids?’’

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