PRESIDENT MICHAEL D Higgins has said a new documentary about the suicide of a young Traveller boy should be seen in every household and school in the country.
Patrick: A Young Traveller Lost will air on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player tonight a 9.35pm.
The documentary aims to shine a light on the rate of suicide in the Traveller community, which is significantly higher than the settled community.
It does this by highlighting the story of 12-year-old Patrick McDonagh from Finglas, Dublin, who took his own life last year after he was bullied.
The documentary follows Patrick’s parents - Michelle and Pat – in the months following his death as they try to come to terms with the loss. The documentary looks into the wider issue of Traveller suicide in Ireland and the difficult conditions in which many Travellers live.
The documentary only features voices from the Traveller community, with Senator Eileen Flynn and Director of the Traveller Counselling Service Thomas McCann also featuring, among others.
Commenting in a statement, President Higgins said it was an honour to be given an advance screening of the documentary.
“Even though I am familiar with the issues with which the Travelling Community struggle, the personal testimonies of Patrick McDonagh’s parents, and Bernie Power moved me in a way I find difficult to describe,” he said.
It would be so valuable if all members of the public could see this film, which describes a life lost to bullying. An incredibly talented boy, interested in all aspects of life and full of curiosity, within one year had his life destroyed.
Higgins called the production by RTÉ and Alleycat Films a “splendid, valuable exercise in public service broadcasting”.
“There are so many reasons I could think of why this film should be seen in every household, and it would be just incredibly valuable if it were seen in every school,” he said.
Patrick’s story
Patrick died last year. He was described “the most beautiful little boy that was ever brought into this world” by his mother Michelle
“He was always clever. He loved English. He loved Irish. He knew everything about science. He loved fixing bikes. He’d take a bike apart and put it together in seconds. I just can’t believe he left the world the way he did. I just thought he was so happy. He showed no signs,” she said in the documentary.
His father said he was bullied, which the family weren’t aware of before he died.
“My little boy didn’t tell us nothing. I mean, secrets he took it to the grave. God rest him. We never expected Patrick to do what he done,” he said.
“I’m no good with phones – that’s the reason why we didn’t pass any notice of the phones. But when he passed away, we started taking notice of the phones, started realising it was the phone. It was a poxy phone.
He was hiding stuff where he was being bullied. He never told us deep down inside, the mental torture. God knows what he was going through.
The documentary attempts to delve into what happened to Patrick, and detail the wider struggles that the Traveller community face.
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