THE YOUNG man who killed student Sebastian Creane and injured two others before taking his own life “had it all”, his mother has told an RTÉ Radio programme.
Last month, Shane Clancy (22), from Dalkey, called to the Creane family home in Bray where he killed Sebastian Creane (22) and seriously injured his brother Dylan Creane and friend Jennifer Hannigan. He had previously dated Ms Hannigan.
His mother, Leonie, wrote to 2FM's Gerry Ryan Showthis week, saying she wanted to tell people what her son was really like.
She first offered her deepest condolences to the Creane family and said she thanked God every day that Jen and Dylan survived and hoped they would find peace some day. “I want your listeners to know who my son was and what he was like before the 16th of August,” she wrote.
“Despite what it said in the papers, Shane had it all: a stable home; a lovely flat in Dalkey; his own car; college going well and family and friends who loved him unconditionally.”
Her son volunteered to work in the Sunshine Homes, run by St Vincent de Paul. “He gave half his grant money to a homeless man he befriended which meant we had to pay his rent. But that was normal,” she said.
Clancy had planned to go to Calcutta for the summer but the trip was postponed after he told his mentor that he was feeling very low after breaking up with Ms Hannigan.
“He was at home with me the day that he got the phone call telling him the trip to Calcutta was deferred so I got him to go on the net and book himself a round-the-world trip,” she wrote.
“I think that might have been the wrong decision and he was getting more and more depressed being away from his friends and family.” He returned home two weeks later. “I drove him to the doctor and made him get some antidepressants, which he didn’t want to take but I insisted.”
Ms Clancy said she loved her son and would always be proud of him. “What happened to Shane to turn him into such an unrecognisable person that night? What lessons can be learned? If it can happen to Shane, it can happen to anyone,” she wrote.
“Was it because he didn’t drink or do drugs that his system just couldn’t cope with the antidepressants? Or can depression melt your brain if it gets that bad? Will we ever know? All I know is that Shane wouldn’t hurt a fly but turned unrecognisable that night for some reason.”
She also asked about the help available for young people who felt depressed and suicidal. “What’s out there for young people when they are feeling so low?”
