Dublin Coroner’s Court. Photo: Dara Mac Donaill
A 13-year-old boy who took his own life at his home in Dublin last year had told his mother that “earth is the worst planet ever”.
Details of the tragic circumstances of the death of the teenager were heard at a sitting of Dublin District Coroner’s Court last week. These included that he had asked his mother to buy the item which he had used to take his own life just two weeks earlier.
The boy was taken by ambulance to Children’s Health Ireland at Temple Street in Dublin after he was discovered un-responsive in his bedroom by his mother at lunchtime on May 17 last year.
Garda Ben Grimes, of Ballymun garda station, told the inquest he had discovered items in the boy’s bedroom including a notebook in a locker which contained “some explicit images” of self-harm.
Gda Grimes said he had made efforts to contact the boy’s mother about the inquest. He was informed she had returned to her native Moldova, but had no contact details for her.
In a written statement, the boy’s mother said her son had asked to stay home from school on the day of his death as he did not want to participate in a sports day.
She outlined how her son was OK at 8.10am before she left for work. The woman said she returned home at lunchtime and found her son had pushed his bed against the door of his bedroom.
After the landlord helped her to push open the door, immediate efforts were made to resuscitate the teenager.
The boy was taken by paramedics to Temple Street, but he suffered a cardiac arrest in the ambulance and had no heartbeat on arrival at the hospital. He was pronounced dead at 2.37pm.
The victim’s mother said he loved gaming and playing on his PlayStation, but had become “very anti-social and distant” in the period before his death.
Coroner Clare Keane said the school authorities followed established procedures and a related risk assessment had considered the situation as “not serious”.
Dr Keane said records showed the boy had no major health issues although he had been referred to see a psychologist in 2016 as it was observed he had a short attention span. While it was unclear if he had been seen by a psychologist, the coroner said there had been no concerns about his mental health.
The coroner recorded a verdict of death by suicide.