THE father of tragic Phoebe Prince has blamed her school for her death, saying it turned a blind eye to her tormentors.

Phoebe took her own life in January, and her father Jeremy Prince, who has avoided giving public interviews, has now given some insight into his pain.

The pretty teenager, who moved to Massachusetts from Clare last September, was the victim of vicious and extensive bullying from her new high school classmates.

And the torment became so relentless that after just four months of living in the US, she took her own life.

Although five of her alleged bullies have been brought to court for their part in her death, school officials have insisted that they enforce a strict anti-bullying policy.

However, her father said that it was the school's job to step in and prevent such a tragedy.

Vulnerable

"The whole culture was wrong at that school. The school turned a blind eye for administrative reasons," he claimed. "They closed ranks.

"The adults at the high school responded to this like administrators, not educators. Administrators minimise everything, they want as little hassle as possible. An educator would be setting an example.

"As a person, she wasn't that vulnerable. It was the environment of the school and the threats of physical violence. She was susceptible to that,'' he added.

Grief-stricken Mr Prince, who lives in Clare with his daughter Lauren, had previously only given one interview, in which he revealed how he was devastated that he wasn't there for his daughter.

He went to visit Phoebe last December and said that she did not give any signs that she was in trouble. While she was seeing a therapist, they said that she was not at risk of suicide.

"What I didn't see was Phoebe in school," he acknowledges. "Perhaps if I had, that would have made a big difference. It is the great tragedy of my life that I was not there."

Justice

Mr Prince said he and his daughter talked often, about "sex and drugs and everything under the sun".

"Except there was one thing we couldn't talk about. That was the bullying," he said.

Mr Prince said that he hoped the five teens charged with various different counts, which are believed to have contributed to Phoebe's death, will see justice served.

They are Flannery Mullins, Sharon Velazquez and Ashley Longe, who were all 16 at the time of Phoebe's death; and Kayla Narey and her on-and-off boyfriend Sean Mulveyhill, who were both 17.

"I'd dearly like to see admission and contrition, so that I could forgive," said Mr Prince.

"If they confessed to the court and said they were sorry, I'd appeal to the court for total leniency.

"You can go two ways. You can look to the court for revenge or you can look for leniency. The latter path is mine."

cmcbride@herald.ie

- Caitlin McBride