Funeral of Erin Gallagher takes place in Stranorlar
The funeral of Erin Gallagher has taken place in the Donegal town of Stranorlar.
It is claimed the 13-year-old was the victim of cyber-bullying before her death at her home in Ballybofey on Saturday.
Teenage suicide awareness groups have voiced their concerns over the growing rate of online bullying following two other similar cases of it's kind in the past month.
Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil is calling for effective strategies to tackle bullying and cyber bullying in schools.
The party has launched a National Policy on Youth Mental Health, which includes proposals to promote mental health awareness from pre-school to college.
Fianna Fáil's spokesperson on Children, Charlie McConalogue, who is from Donegal, says the death of Erin and the recent death of Ciara Pugsley from Co Leitrim in similar circumstances puts the onus on the government to deal with mental health issues and bullying.
“It’s an exception tragedy for the family, it’s a tragedy for the community and as a country we must learn lessons from it. This is the second incident where somebody so young has taken their own life and it would appear cyber-bullying is a very strong aspect,” McConalogue said.
