Clarkes confirm son took own life

Andrew Clarke, the teenage son of l’Ecrivain restaurateurs Derry and Sallyanne Clarke, took his own life, his parents have confirmed.

There had been suggestions that their 16-year-old son had died in an accident while fixing his car.

However, in a statement released this weekend, Mr and Mrs Clarke said it was not their intention to mislead anyone over the circumstances of his death.

"For the four days our son lay in a coma we prayed and hoped for a miracle, and if he survived we didn't want him to be stigmatised by his actions in a moment of madness," Derry and Sallyanne Clarke said.

"We were also extremely concerned about the effect this would have on Andrew's cousins, close friends and fellow pupils.

"Sadly Andrew could not be saved and by that stage speculation as to what had befallen him had spiralled beyond our control.

"We issued a statement in response to press queries in which we did not comment on the nature of Andrew's death, but took the opportunity to pay tribute to him.

"It was not our intention to mislead. We were, and remain, so very distraught. We know all parents will understand our plight and we'd like to thank everyone who has supported us through these dark days from the bottom of our hearts."

Andrew Clarke, who was a student at Clongowes Wood College, Co Kildare, died on New Year's Eve and was buried last weekend.

In a statement issued shortly after his death, Ms Clarke had said she found her son's body by a car he was repairing.

“I found him at about 1.40pm last Thursday,” Ms Clarke said in a statement, released on January 1st.

“He was cold and unconscious by his car in the garage. He’d bought a VW Jetta and was very busy fixing it up. We did CPR on him in the ambulance and they managed to get a heartbeat. I was literally willing him to live all the time.

“Andrew was 6ft 4in and about 17 stone, but he was our baby boy. Once they got the heartbeat, they moved him into the ICU in Tallaght and we thought he actually had a fighting chance. However, Andrew had severe brain damage. The doctors declared him brain dead on Monday afternoon.”

[ the Samaritans ]