'My son's story should be a warning to every parent'

Oisin Johnston was the baby of his family, the youngest of four children.

With an almost 20-year gap between Oisin and his oldest sibling, his parents lovingly called him "the icing on the cake".

"He was a great wee fella, very thoughtful but also full of fun and he just loved the craic," his mum Denise recalls.

But in September 2025, the Johnstons' world came crashing down when Oisin took his own life.

Warning: This article contains details and references to suicide

For Denise it came as a bolt from the blue.

"I am a bereaved parent; words I never really thought I'd hear myself say because we had absolutely no indications that Oisin would ever consider ending his life.

"When I think about what happened, I just believe that unfortunately Oisin wasn't thinking rationally and in that moment had no more control over his brain at that time, than someone having a fatal heart attack has over their heart.

"But my message is that suicide is never the solution and I wish I could have told him whatever he was feeling was temporary and we could have helped him get through it."

In Northern Ireland, suicide remains the leading cause of death among men under 50.

Just days before Oisin's death, Denise, an SDLP councillor for Mid Ulster District Council, attended suicide prevention training.

"The scary thing is that there was nothing in that training that would have raised alarm bells for me personally," she said.

Denise wants her experience to act as a warning for others.

"It's so important to me that I get the message across to speak to your children about their mental health, even if there are no warning signs.

"I also think it's important as someone who has suffered this type of loss and is in public life, to speak out about this issue and try to tackle some of the myths and stigma that still surrounds it."

Denise hopes that sharing Oisin's story will encourage other parents to talk to their children about mental health.

She said: "Recently I was at my local shop and within the space of a few minutes I spoke to three different people whose families had all been impacted by suicide.

"That's a terrifying indictment of the high rate of people ending their lives here in Mid Ulster."

In 2024, there were 290 suicides in Northern Ireland, according to statistics agency Nisra.

The average each year between 2014 and 2017 was 205.

The southern health trust area had the joint highest suicides registered in 2024 with 65.

Meanwhile, the number of suicides recorded in the Mid Ulster Council area has been steadily increasing, from 12 in 2015 to 21 in 2024.

Northern Ireland's mental health champion Professor Siobhan O'Neill said that by sharing her son's story, Denise will help other families.

"It's so impressive and important when people can talk about their own lived experience and particularly when people can recognise the difference that talking makes when it comes to suicide and suicide prevention," she said.

"Suicidal thoughts are actually quite common, it's really important that people know that these thoughts can pass and that they can ask for help.

"Suicidal thoughts are not always related to mental illness and it can sometimes be something that's happened to them."

O'Neill has raised concerns about funding for a mental health strategy.

The Department of Health said it invested around £12m in suicide prevention each year.

A spokesperson added: "The minister has been clear that delivering the Mental Health Strategy requires sustained and additional investment and he will continue to make the case for mental health until the ambition so clearly set out in 2021 is fully realised."

Earlier this year, a new cross-party inquiry was announced to examine how suicide prevention services are funded in Northern Ireland and how best to tackle the rising numbers.

Denise added: "Whatever we as a society are doing it's not enough, it's not working and it should become a government priority from this minute on.

"They could start by committing the necessary funding to the Mental Heath Strategy and I will spend the rest of my life fighting for suicide prevention."

Denise said she will continue to share Oisin's story.

"My hope going forward is, as I carry on for my son, that we collectively work towards more effective suicide-prevention strategies. It's my life's mission.

"I will continue to need some support from time to time, as there is no end to it, there is no end date to the grief of having lost what was so precious to us and no parent should bury their child."

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