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Irish American nightmare for Phoebe Prince and her family

KELLY FINCHAM,

IrishCentral.com Editor

Published Friday, April 2, 2010, 11:59 PM

Updated Saturday, April 3, 2010, 12:18 AM

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Phoebe Prince's mother must feel like she is living in a nightmare.

Annie O'Brien Prince chose South Hadley as a place to live because her family had relatives there.

South Hadley, with its strong Irish heritage, would feel like a home away from home for the Princes while they adjusted to their life in America.

A schoolteacher and an American by birth, Annie O'Brien Prince moved over from County Clare with Phoebe and her sister, while their father Jeremy stayed behind in Ireland to sell the house.

It should have been an American dream.

Instead, it turned into an American nightmare.

Just last September, Phoebe enrolled in her first - and what would be her last - year in an American school.

Coming from a small town in Ireland where she had attended boarding school, she would have been doing her best to fit in.

But surely she could have felt secure in a town where people were called Mulveyhill, Narey and Mullins, all proud Irish American names.

Little did she know that there would be no Irish welcome from this particular group of Irish Americans.

Little did she know they would villify her as an "Irish slut," and "Irish whore" using "Irish" as a term of abuse.

Did the Mulveyhills, Nareys and Mullins not realize they were Irish themselves?

Neither she nor her family could have known what they were up against.

In the final weeks and months of Phoebe's tragically short life, the 15-year-old was pursued by this gang of bullies who clearly felt they could get away with it.

They pursued her through the school hallways, the school library, the school cafeteria and within sight of her home.

They made her life a literal living hell.

On Jan. 14 she was set upon in the school library where she was surrounded by the bullying teenagers. Some reports say a staff member saw this.

One of the teens blocked the door to prevent her escape.

Other students say she was seen crying that afternoon, on her way into the nurse's office.

Could no one have stepped in at any point that day - or earlier - to protect Phoebe Prince from her tormentors?

How will the parents of the Irish American bullies be able to face the heartbroken parents of Irish teenager Phoebe Prince who went home that same afternoon and hanged herself with the scarf her sister had given her as a Christmas present just three weeks earlier?

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mkjudge | Sep 01, 2010, 08:00 PM EDT

The Phoebe Prince incident will be hallmarked as a crumbling of society in Usher House proportions. Public school officials ignored the abuse that Phoebe endured by a vicious group of predators, that tagged team to make this girl‘s life as miserable as possible. South Hadley High School administrators and teachers chose not to address Phoebe’s problems in a proactive matter and left her dangling in a dangerous situation. If one the ‘adults’ on January 14th, had made sure that Phoebe was monitored, she would still be alive today. Now, we have some of those adults walking around saying that Phoebe brought it all on herself. Beautiful! I love to see adults that deflect any blame and attack a dead girl. Amazing how those primitive survival skills kick right in. It disgusts me, particularly because I am a teacher, I work with teachers and my colleagues are like family to me. I am strong proponent for public education, however this case reeks of pseudo professionals that went into the occupation for July and August, not for the kids. Teachers like this are far and in-between, however in South Hadley this syndrome is running rapid. Very unlike the people I work with. It would be easy to keep my mouth shut due to occupational hazard, but how can I be a proponent for public schools, without trying to rid the system from negligent staff members? It would be hypocritical and disgrace to the millions of teacher/administrations that really do care about their students and do their job with nobility. http://365daysofexercises.blogspot.com/

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McNamara31 | Apr 25, 2010, 11:29 AM EDT

tinasmith As I read your post I could feel how deeply you were hurt by people who probably found joy in hurting others. I believe the insight and empathy you gained through living this horror, will allow you to help many others in the future and in that, provide healing for yourself. Wishing you happiness.

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tinasmith | Apr 05, 2010, 08:54 PM EDT

The parents of the Irish American bullies are to blame more than anyone else, including the bullies themselves and school officials. Parents are responsible for teaching good character and behavior to their kids. They are responsible for teaching kindness, respect, and tolerance. Schools cannot raise kids but bullies should be expelled at the first sign of bullying.

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tinasmith | Apr 05, 2010, 08:21 PM EDT

There is a climate of tolerance for bullies and bullying in our society. I think something about our culture even creates a sense of respect for that kind of tyranical behavior. Bullies are sociopaths...people who have no empathy for others, they are skilled liars, and are good at manipulating others and gaining control over others to join in the bullying of the person that they resent or are jealous of. I was bullied mercilessly for years through a number of lies told with much repetition to people who associated with me as a form of sabotage. When I realized how people were actually believing this practiced and pathological liar because they turned on me, I had to be hospitalized. I had no physical injuries which is usually what our justice system looks for to prosecute someone in harming someone else but the damage to my mental health and well-being and the damage it caused in my life lingers to this day. The person that did this to me is a criminal even though she got away with it.

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Scotty1111 | Apr 04, 2010, 12:43 PM EDT

Erica Laughlin You and others in your City Rise Up!!! Carry The Flag of Justice! Justice For Phoebe. Change the way things are, it starts with you, then Congress. How soon...is Now ! Christopher Scott

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Scotty1111 | Apr 04, 2010, 12:01 PM EDT

I have heard of a similar story like this here in B.C. CANADA where the School put on a big show of remorse after the suicide. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! no Child/Student/Teacher or Family should have to go through this. THE SCHOOL IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SAFETY & CARE OF THE CHILDREN/STUDENTS/TEACHERS. LITTLE IF NOT NOTHING WAS DONE RESULTING IN BREAKDOWN LEADING TO SUICIDE!! The person GUS that was on MSN TV showed a "Pathetic" demeanor which I feel is part of the problem in that School.The SCHOOLS WORLD WIDE must have A LAW, A SYSTEM in place where EDUCATION of BULLIES, GANGS, OR ANY ABUSE IS NOT TOLERATED! DISCUSSION AND ACTION MUST BE SWIFT! regarding ABUSE, BULLIES AND GANGS.This Action can not afford to go through the usual slow means of "RED TAPE" IF NOT IMPLEMENTED... it will get out of control leading to Students protecting themselves with any means possible, such as WEAPONS already the case in many Schools of TODAY. If this reaches epidemic, it is already too late, the School System would have FAILED!. The Student being taught at home could be, the not so distant Future! The Students in this case were charged with harassment.. no more than a slap on the wrist. A Disappointing Pathetic Action of Justice!! MANSLAUGHTER on some level is APPROPRIATE. EG *If someone chases another person in fear, and that person gets hit from a car and dies that is not harassment,not far off from what happened here.* IF ACTION AND REPRISAL IS NOT SWIFT THIS SENDS THE MESSAGE THAT STUDENTS ARE ("UNTOUCHABLE" ) UNACCOUNTABLE FOR THESE ACTIONS, THAT LATER BUILDS THE FOUNDATION FOR TOMORROWS SOCIETY.

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krisdaly | Apr 04, 2010, 03:32 AM EDT

OBVIOUSLY THE SCHOOL STAFF DID NOT LIKE THE IRISH SO THEY ALLOWED PHOEBE TO BE BULLIED THEREBY THE STAFF IS RESPONSIBLE FOR HER SUICIDE AND MUST BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR INACTION TO PROTECT PHOEBE.

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murphy66 | Apr 03, 2010, 04:42 PM EDT

Home schooling is the answer.

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IrishMark | Apr 03, 2010, 02:39 PM EDT

R.I.P Phoebe Prince My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.You will never be forgotten here in Ireland

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desdav111 | Apr 03, 2010, 02:33 PM EDT

I think this is an absolute atrocity. My heart goes out to the family of this young girl. Where are the teachers and the parents who choose to turn a blind eye to this kids will be kids activity? they should all be held to account and ALL individuals involved punished as adults, to send a clear message!! Dave S. Leesburg,Va

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ericalaughlin | Apr 03, 2010, 09:53 AM EDT

houlihanreid...We're trying to figure that out. There are many of us parents who are just consumed with this and are angry at the way things have been handled. We won't rest until we are satisfied that every person involved has to answer for their actions or their inactions. For the staff who knew about this and witnessed it...I don't know how they sleep at night. One of the boys was a star football player...Sean Mulveyhill. Maybe that is why some looked the other way. Football is big in this town and they start picking and priming kids from and early age...a lot of time and investment in these players. This is not to say that this is the reason...just speculation from some of us parents. Even though my family lives here...our children will never set foot in the schools here.

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houlihanreid | Apr 03, 2010, 06:46 AM EDT

Sick, why didn't anyone do anything?????

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