‘Please let my young son be the last to die,’ heart-broken Strabane woman’s plea to politicians

A Strabane woman today calls for support in tackling one of Northern Ireland’s biggest killers – just seven months after losing her young son to suicide.

Hester Glenn (49) who is backing our new Downtown & Cool FM launch its 'Invest in Life' campaign, is speaking out as deaths here for suicide reach significantly worrying levels.

Just seven months ago, her 23-year-old sports-star son Jack took his own life.

He died from suicide after receiving some bad news that morning but Hester said he showed no warning signs of mental illness or suicidal thoughts.

She paid an emotional tribute to her late child who she described as her “blue eyed boy.”

“Jack was just my life, he was my world, he lit up every room he went into, he had the most amazing smile, his eyes just sparkled.

“He was my world, my son, I just loved him so much,” she said through tears.

Jack took his own life on the Foyle Bridge earlier this year, Hester and volunteers set up a camp on the banks of the river and spent eight weeks looking for his body.

During the search, the grieving mum saw some harrowing sights.

Hester said: “My sister jumped into the car and she said Hester don’t look up you won’t want to see it but automatically I looked up it was just the natural instinct.

“There was a young fella at the exact spot where Jack had went in.”

Hester insists the experience has opened her eyes to the extent of the suicide problem in Northern Ireland.

“Mental health really never crossed our minds before but during the eight weeks that we were down at the water, we had to make 52 calls to police, due to people trying to take their own lives,” she said.

She continued: “There was someone who went in, in front of us, I think it was the third week that we were down there.

“It was an older man.

“And in the couple of months since we have left the water, I’m sure there has been loads more that we don’t know about.”

The care-worker has decided to open up in a bid to tackle high suicide rates here.

Northern Ireland recorded the highest suicide rate in the UK in 2015 as well as the highest since records began, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Hester says it seems to be a particular problem among men.

Figures obtained by Downtown Cool FM show that over three quarters of deaths registered as suicides in Northern Ireland in the past three years have been male.

Almost a third of them have been under the age of 30.

The Strabane woman says politicians need to do more to support mental health services and has called for more funding and investment.

“I think that councillors should all come together and they should put more funding into mental health.

“I just feel younger people just need to talk more, they need to go and talk to people but maybe they’re not there to talk to, there needs to be more funding.”

If you or someone you know is in distress or despair, call Lifeline on 0808 808 8000 24/7.

If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and would like to get in touch, please contact tara.mclaughlin@downtown.co.uk or phone 02891815211.

• Invest in Life