Northern Irish family’s heartache as three sons take their own lives

A Northern Irish family has told of their heartache after losing three beloved sons to suicide.

Stephen Ferrin (pictured above) passed away over the weekend, just days after he returned home from going missing. The dad of one’s death is the fourth tragedy in the family in recent years after his brothers Niall (19) and Kieran (24) took their own lives, as well as their cousin, Christopher (19). His heartbroken parents paid tribute to their “cherished and deeply loved” son this week. They told the Belfast Telegraph:

"Stephen is a father, a brother and a son who is cherished and deeply loved and he will be sadly missed by all his friends and family. "He was a handsome young man, who was very witty, and who had lots and lots of friends. "His death is devastating to us, to his friends and to the whole community and we would like to bury him with dignity and the respect he deserves."

Stephen has previously tragically lost his brothers Niall, in 2011, and Kieran, in 2014, to suicide - as well as his cousin Christopher in 2010. Two kind hearted friends have launched a JustGiving page to raise money for the Ferrin family, as they get ready to run the Belfast half marathon in Stephen’s memory. Neill Hamill explained:

“Me and Phil Hamill will be running the Belfast half marathon and hoping to raise funds for the Ferrin family following the sudden death of Stephen. “Unfortunately the Ferrin family know all too well this heartache in recent years so i'm just hoping I can ease some of the financial burden they have at this time.”

If you have been affected by the issues raised in this article please contact the Samaritans on 116123 for support or visit the website on www.samaritans.org.