Andrew Clarke, the teenage son of l’Ecrivain restaurateurs Derry and Sallyanne Clarke, took his own life, his parents have confirmed.
There were suggestions that their 16-year-old son had died in an accident while fixing his car.
However, in a statement released this weekend, the Clarkes 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.”
Ms Clarke found her son unconscious on Thursday, December 27th. He was taken to Tallaght hospital but died the following Monday.
Andrew Clarke, who was a fifth-year student at Clongowes Wood College, Co Kildare, was buried last weekend following a funeral Mass attended by hundreds of students, teachers and parents at the school.
At the Mass, he was recalled by the school headmaster as a “loveable rogue” who had coined nicknames for every teacher and became prefect at Clongowes within two weeks of his arrival.
In a statement issued shortly after he died, Ms Clarke had said she found her son’s body by a car he was repairing, but did not specify how he had died.
