FAMILY OF OISIN McGRATH TELL OF PAIN AS ONE-PUNCH ATTACKER AVOIDS JAIL SENTENCE

On February 9, 2015, our beautiful Oisin was tragically taken from us when he was fatally struck on the back of the head by Francis McDermott.

Oisin was an amazing young person with his whole life ahead of him. We will always miss his presence; his voice, his laughter and the pride we felt watching him grow into a wonderful young individual. It breaks our hearts every minute of every day that we will never see him, hear him, or hug him again.

There are simply no words to express the enormous pain we have all suffered since that day and the circumstances in which we lost Oisin (right), make it even harder to believe that he is gone and that something like this could happen to him.

We would like to make it clear that Oisin was in complete and full health when he was killed. There were no underlying conditions. He was not struck by a bottle or a ball, Oisin was intentionally struck by Francis McDermott and this action caused his death. If Oisin had not been hit, he would still be here today.

After today, life goes on for everyone else. On that day in February 2015, Oisin’s life was ended and our lives stood still, shattered forever. While no sentence will change that for us, today’s sentence is not proportionate in any way to killing Oisin. Oisin paid the ultimate price with his life and we, without him, are left with our own life sentence. No words versed today will bring Oisin back or change the damage caused.

The impact of the court case itself and the length of time that it has taken to get to a guilty plea have also caused extreme stress and anxiety. Further anxiety and hurt continues to be caused by the notion that what other families in this situation are going through, equates to what we are living through. There is only one family and one group of friends in this circumstance whose loved one went to school that morning and never came home again. This is our third Christmas without Oisin and time is no healer, he should be here.

We believe that for Oisin and for other young boys, who find themselves injured by older boys or anyone, there has to be a consequence. For striking any person and in particular to the back of the head, there must be consequences. In Oisin’s case, the blow was fatal — we plead with all young people to think before they act, one strike can kill and sadly for Oisin and for us, it did. The human body is very resilient but also very fragile. If people don’t think before they act, they certainly should.

We would like to thank the emergency services, hospital staff and PICU and organ donation teams for their care, compassion and professionalism. We know Oisin got the best possible care in your hands and that there was nothing that could be done for his injuries that wasn’t tried.

To all of the witnesses that came forward, particularly Oisin’s friends, who had to be so very brave in the face of the most horrific circumstances, thank you.

Our thanks also to the police investigation team and all involved in looking after Oisin’s case including those tasked with supporting us through it. From the very start we know you have worked tirelessly in gathering evidence and have kept us informed at every opportunity. It has been a long, stressful process for us.

Finally, a massive thank you to everyone who has sent us messages, cards and letters of support, sympathy and love. From those closest to us, to those we don’t know, we have been overwhelmed by your continued kindness and support.

Our battle to deal with our loss has only just begun; it’s a horrific, stomach churning, tearful and emotional place that we never thought we would find ourselves in. We miss Oisin so much and need to try to deal with our loss as best we can, so we would respectfully ask that our family are now left to grieve in peace.

Oisin will be forever running in our hearts and we will continue to raise awareness of organ donation and brain injury in his memory, as well as continuing with youth sports development in our community; but nothing will ever be the same again.