Fionnbar Walsh, father of Donal, spoke to Newstalk Breakfast about his son and his courageous anti-suicide message before he died.
The 16-year-old passed away from cancer in May of this year but before he died, he spoke and wrote movingly about teenagers suffering depression and the need for them to seek help and not see suicide as an option.
The message resonated around the country and in particular, his home area of south Kerry. Fionnbar highlighted the the effect the anti-suicide message had.
"From the time that he had his first interview on radio , which was in Radio Kerry to the end of August there were no suicides in South Kerry recorded. Under normal circumstances he (Coroner) would be dealing with one to two per months. That was five months without suicide. He then recorded three suicides at the end of August and he hasn't had any since. He laid that squarely at the feet of Donal."
Fionnbar highlighted why Donal chose to fight against suicide in our society.
"He had seen one in his own school and the part that upset him most was the glorification of it on media like twitter and facebook. Calling people 'legends' and 'you're in a great place now' and things like that. He was very frustrated. He wanted to live. He told his mother 'You know Mum, if I could live on, I'd live with the pain.'"
Donal's legacy and message lives on today through the #livelong foundation, founded by his family.
You can listen to the full interview here:
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