BY CONOR SHARKEY
THOSE people who supplied 16 year-old Strabane suicide victim Shane O'Connor with drugs have to shoulder the burden for his death, a local priest has said.
Fr Pat O'Hagan spoke out at the funeral of the teenager who was found dead at his Drumman Court home early on Friday.
The young man's death is the second in the Melmount area in recent weeks. Two weeks ago, 22-year-old hurler Brendan McGee took his own life.
Addressing the 200-strong congregation at Shane O'Connor's funeral on Monday, Fr O'Hagan revealed that the young man had been battling a drug addiction. He added that following Shane's death, the O'Connor family were keen to make other young people aware of the dangers of drug abuse.
Fr O'Hagan said, "Above Shane O'Connor's coffin during his wake was a picture taken of him in primary one, just 11 years ago. It showed the innocence of a young man who was happy to be alive. You can see in that picture so much potential, yet here we are today grieving for him at just 16.
"The O'Connor family have asked me to talk about drugs and drugs were a big factor in Shane's life.
"Whoever introduced him to it should have a heavy heart today and their conscience should be bothering them. Maybe it was a friend. I'll tell you this, you were no friend of Shane's," he said.
Asking what can be done to curb the rising tide of drug abuse in society today, Fr O'Hagan continued, "What can we do as a community to help people like Shane? We need to encourage people to talk and always reassure them that there is someone – might it be family, friends, the clergy – there for them. Anyone who needs to talk about depression or anxiety should find a shoulder to lean on and a hand to hold. All we can do is keep reassuring people, particularly young people, that there is a light at the end of the tunnel," he added.
Calling on young people to reject what he described as 'the worst cancer in our society today', Fr O'Hagan continued, "Please don't give into temptation because drugs will only bring you down. For every high there is a low and in the end, they drive us to do things that leave us grief stricken. If you are involved in drugs, ask for help. We see the grief they cause, we don't want it to happen again."
Urging the community to unite against the scourge of drug abuse, he added, "Is it too much to ask that the pushers won't find a market for their drugs and that we won't be back here again? To the dealers I say this: we don't want drugs, we don't need drugs. We can manage without them.
"For evil to persist, good people have to say nothing. It takes courage to make the society we live in a better place. So, hopefully it will become a better place, where people can feel free to speak out and turn to someone when they need a shoulder to cry on. I just hope we won't have to go through this again," he said.
