THE mother of a young West Belfast teen, who died by suicide, has thanked the local community following a memorial football tournament organised in his name.
De La Salle College pupil Pearse Connors (16), a talented young footballer, passed away in January 2020.
Pearse Connors
Pearse's friends, family, and people from across the community gathered at Belfast Celtic's Glen Road Heights pitch for a memorial tournament and fun day on what would have been his 18th birthday (August 22).
Organised by Glenparent Youth Club's Nathan Quinn, the Pearse Connors Memorial Cup saw 16 teams compete for a trophy and medals, which were kindly provided by Liam Burns.
As well as providing the venue, Belfast Celtic also put on a barbecue for participants, who were kept entertained by DJ Tony Coleman, and provided with t-shirts donated by Kolormaster.
Pearse's mum, Michelle Connors, told how her son's death had "tore the whole community apart".
She thanked the community for coming together to remember her son who "lived and breathed football".
"The kids were still feeling it, they thought it would be a great memory to have a memorial fun day for families to come together and celebrate Pearse's life through football," she said.
"It was just tremendous. The amount of people that turned out was magical. There were 16 teams coming together.
"When it was advertised on Facebook the teams were filled within minutes. There were so many people who wanted to play but couldn't because you had to draw a line on the amount of teams."
She continued: "We knew it had a big impact on everybody, but even when Pearse passed we didn't realise how much he was involved in football. Football teams from all over had paid their condolences to him. We knew the tournament was going to be big, but we didn't know it was going to be that big."
Michelle said the tournament, which will become a yearly event, is a way to show local young people that the community is behind them.
"All the kids were torn when Pearse died, but this brought everybody together to show that everybody is here for each other," she said.
"Glenparent, who had done the walk and talk, have done so much. We just can't thank the community enough.
"We've told all the kids that our door is open for anyone who wants to come and talk to us. We're like other people in that we're in the dark and nobody knows what's in front of them."
