The funeral of Sixmilebridge teenager Conor Wilmot has heard that his death should be a warning to the potential dangers of the internet.
Large crowds have gathered to say their farewells to the 13 year old who has been remembered as a talented rugby player, who adored Munster.
From Sixmilebridge, Clare FM’s James Mulhall has more:
The grieving Dad of a 13-year old school boy said yesterday that his son “died because of a stupid teenage accident gone wrong”.
Greg Wilmot yesterday said that he is “absolutely certain” that his son, Conor did not die of suicide.
Mr Wilmot also dismissed reports that his son intentionally took his own life because he was being bullied at school or that his death is in someway connected to the online ‘Blue Whale’ suicide challenge game.
Speaking from the family home four miles from the east Clare village of Sixmilebridge, Mr Wilmot said he is fairly sure that Conor “died as a result of a choking game”.
Mr Wilmot said that such a game has enjoyed a resurgence as a result of the Internet and he is believes that Conor came across the game online.
“For all we know it wasn’t the first time Conor did it and this time he didn’t get away with it” he said. “The Gardai have taken away Conor’s phone and that will show his search history and that will tell us a story”.
Mr Wilmot indicated that Gardai have also taken away to examine a laptop from the home that Conor would have had access to, saying “I bet you they will find something to do with a choking game on his phone”.
Mr Wilmot said that his son fits the profile who would have got involved in such a game. He said: “High achievers often fall prey to this”.
Yesterday, neighbours and friends were at the home comforting Greg and his wife, Irina over the loss of Conor with sandwiches and cake were piled high from those rallying to support the Wilmots.
Conor is also survived by 21-year old sister, Melanie and 10-year old brother, Ross.
Mr Wilmot said his certainty about Conor not intentionally taking his own life “isn’t based on any speculation about what his mental state may or may not have been”.
He said “I found him and it is based around the position I found him in. It was an accident gone wrong and not an intentional act to kill himself”
He added that “People need to know that because it makes a massive difference to know it was a stupid teenage accident gone wrong rather than him being unhappy or whatever”.
The twisted Blue Whale suicide challenge has been linked to 130 teen deaths in Russia and Mr Wilmot said: “It is nothing to do with Blue Whale. It is not a suicide thing”.
Mr Wilmot said that the circumstances of Conor’s death don’t match anything to do with Blue Whale. He said “Blue Whale is not consistent with what I found”.
He said “All of us when we were teenagers did some stupid, stupid things which could have gone wrong and none of us would be walking around and I think it was one of those stupid, stupid things that he decided to do that just went wrong”.
A former tennis pro, Mr Wilmot described Conor as “brilliant” and very popular with his classmates.
Mr Wilmot described Conor as “quirky” who liked Dr Who and professional wrestling.
He said “He never missed a day at school and was really enjoying playing rugby for St Senan’s. He was playing No 8 and had a ‘god given’ skill”.
A computer programmer with a masters in philosophy, the Australian born man said that the two had booked tickets to travel to Paris in June to see some of Conor’s favour bands, Greenday and Linkin Park.
Mr Wilmot said that he first found Conor on lands behind their home last Thursday night, his son didn’t have a pulse and his hands were cold.
Mr Wilmot said that is trained to provide CPR and gave his son CPR until the paramedics arrived and they continued to try to resuscitate Conor.
A former professional scuba driver, Mr Wilmot said “I called the emergency services. I didn’t panic and just went into ‘doing’ mode. No one could have done more to save him”.
Mr Wilmot said: “There is nothing we could have done to stop him go out of the house and down to the land. I am not riddled with guilt over it. You can’t lock the doors.”
He said: “It is not like we could have minded him more. Short of putting him under lock and key, there is nothing we could have done.”
Mr Wilmot said “The problem is the Internet. It is their whole life for teens, the first thing they do when waking up is look at the smart phone and the last thing they do at night is look at the smart phone. It is a misguided idea and a fantasy that parents can restrict access to the Internet for teenagers because they will always find a way around it”.
Meanwhile, A Shannon school yesterday dismissed as baseless, unfounded rumour and speculation that bullying played a role in the death of 13 year old Conor Wilmot.
The first year student at St Patrick’s Comprehensive School, Shannon died in a tragic accident on lands close to the family home last Thursday night.
In a statement, St Patrick’s Comprehensive School described Conor as “a hard working and happy student of the school. “He was well liked and admired by his peers and the staff of the school”
The statement said that the whole community community “is shocked and saddened” by Conor’s death.
The statement went on to say that “There has been some speculation on social media and in some media outlets regarding the circumstances of the tragedy. In particular there have been suggestions of bullying”.
“This speculation is totally without foundation and represents an unwarranted intrusion into the grief of the family at this tragic time. School management and the school community as a whole are shocked and disappointed at such baseless unfounded”.
Conor’s sister Melanie turned 21 at the weekend also refuted the speculation in a weekend Facebook post and the school included her post in its statement with her permission.
In her post, Melanie wrote “This story is about my brother, my little brother. I can tell you he was not bullied, he was so happy with such a bright future and so many things he had planned. This story is wrong”.
She went on “I am horrified. We are trying to grieve and plan his funeral. It’s my birthday today and I wake up to see this story that can’t even get their facts straight. Please if you read this, don’t think this of my darling brother. Just remember he was such a happy, popular young man with lots of dreams for the future and it was a tragic accident x”.
The statement by the school concluded that “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and the school is providing and will continue to provide all the necessary support to the family and the school community”.
