The Irish authorities have been damned by the priest who buried tragic teenager Shannon Gallagher.
Fr John Joe Duffy spared nobody in authority as he conducted the funeral mass for suicide victim Shannon just six weeks after he had buried her sister Erin.
The Irish Sun reports that Fr Duffy told a packed St Mary’s Church in Stranorlar that the authorities had failed the Gallaghers.
Devastated mum Lorraine, who had to be helped into the church, heard Fr Duffy criticize the lack of response by the authorities to Erin’s death.
He said: “Erin’s death should have prompted a change in dealing with troubled youngsters.
“Society has failed two children, two sisters within two months. My heart is devastated at how poorly we understand the issues concerning mental health.
“The system in place simply does not work. We are failing to protect the most fragile and most vulnerable children in our society.”
Shannon was a keen boxer who won Ulster and county titles with the Twin Towns boxing club.
Her remains were brought into the church by members of the club with a picture of the 15-year-old in the boxing ring sat on top of her white coffin.
As her body was taken away for burial in Castlefin Cemetery, family and friends released pink balloons just as they had for Erin’s funeral weeks earlier.
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.PhlutiePhan | Dec 17, 2012, 03:22 PM EST
@Portia777: So when you pass on and reach the pearly gates, you are in for a surprise.
seamus60 | Dec 17, 2012, 02:57 PM EST
Jetsnoone. You blamed the deaths on parents not ensuring their children attend mass on a sunday and being taught right from wrong by their parents. In another thread you blamed the authorities who give young people medication that leaves them suicidal. Yet you believe God has the right to judge these young people who are victims of any or all of the above. "why say gods commandment no longer exists" ? Both of these CHILDREN were afforded a funeral mass and burial in consacreted ground. Who changed those rules ? and why ?.
Portia777 | Dec 17, 2012, 09:02 AM EST
jetsnoone "Even if bullied, a child is under OBLIGATION to God not to kill himself....(fith commandment big time)" here What obligation? Where is the written contract between this child and the invisible man in the sky who judges, punishes, kills ....and as George Carlin reminds us " but he loves you" That is the criteria of a psychopath.
Portia777 | Dec 17, 2012, 08:50 AM EST
The comments below re God's law pertaining to children are beyond belief.Do we expect children to understand all this sin busines? No, sin is big business- money and shame and guilt and I see many comments where adults still buy into it all. jetsnoone- what "god"? Have you met him?Has he told you all this in person? No. God is a patriarchal creation- a male on a fluffy cloud judging us sheeple. Do your own inner journey and learn truth. You wont like it when you find that the brainwashing has worked so well for 5,000 years but its time is up. The bullies Murdered the victims - drove them to do it in order to escape persecution here because Adults failed them. I mean HSE failed, school failed , parents failed. The second child was in Corporate care and her corporate parents clearly failed to protect her and were negligent in their duty. Are the warehousers/foster carers held responsible? as they are paid a fortune to "care" for vulnerable children. Yet children in state care are 7 times more likely to be abused than with natural parents. Was the child tormented because she was in state care as it is such a taboo still?
murphy666 | Dec 17, 2012, 08:34 AM EST
It's interesting that Lutherans follow the Catholic ordering of the Commandents while Eastern Catholics follow the Protestant ordering.
murphy666 | Dec 17, 2012, 07:48 AM EST
jetsnoone, the Protestant Sixth Commandment is the Catholic Fifth.
barneyjo | Dec 16, 2012, 08:42 PM EST
@jetsnoone - Sorry, the sixth commandment is "Thou shalt not kill" and not "You shall not take your own life when in a state of abject despair" There is a difference you know!! It should be obvious to all really!!
jetsnoone | Dec 16, 2012, 05:45 PM EST
sorry meant to say 6th commandment
jetsnoone | Dec 16, 2012, 05:44 PM EST
Sorry meant to say 6th commandment...thous shalt not kill. As the Church so wisely teaches children, and adults, that includes suicide. Suicide is an enormous evil and we must instruct our young that this is so....however, God is final judge. He may forgive misguided youth, but certainly not liberals -- the kind we see here-- who try to say Gods commandment no longer counts....they could not be more wrong.
jetsnoone | Dec 16, 2012, 05:37 PM EST
Even if bullied, a child is under OBLIGATION to God not to kill himself....(fith commandment big time)
WoundedKnee | Dec 16, 2012, 04:39 PM EST
For the first time ever, I find myself in agreement with Portia. What is striking about how these events are addressed by church and media is that they are treated as random acts of nature. No mention is made of personal responsibility. This priest in his homily should have asked parents to try to check if their children are bullying others. For every bullied person there's at least one bully. Child bullies have parents. The parents share culpability.
Portia777 | Dec 16, 2012, 09:14 AM EST
"My heart is devastated at how poorly we understand the issues concerning mental health." labeling this as mental health issue places blame on the children and deflects from the abusers. Nothing new in Eire of course. If the bullies were dealt with in the beginning such tragedies would have been avoided