Relatives, friends and neighbours of a 15-year-old Nigerian boy who was stabbed to death in Dublin 15 have expressed their hope that his senseless killing will bring peace between the black community, other immigrant nationalities and Irish people.
Toyosi Shittabey was with a group of four friends returning home to Tyrellstown from the National Aquatic Centre in Blanchardstown at around 8pm on Good Friday when the incident occurred.
His death has shocked the community, but vengeance has given way to hopes for greater harmony.
“Toyosi, we lost you but you will bring peace to other black people, we love you,” a school friend wrote in a condolence book during a very emotional memorial organised at the Hartstown Community School, where Shittabey was a student.
Members of the local African community have echoed these sentiments. “We pray that it will never happen again,” said Segun Popoola, a local resident and law student at DIT, who added that the family “will never be the same”.
Akeem Shopeju, a neighbour of the deceased who has been assisting the family since the death, told Metro Éireann: “Too bad it has to happen this way, but it would serve as a paradigm shift.
“It’s unfortunate that a soul has been lost. But it should be a new dawn in terms of paying respect to everyone in the community, irrespective of nationality.”
Shopeju said the Government needed “to do more to educate the public about diversity. There is a lot of hostility against immigrants in the country. The economy is bad but that doesn’t mean that immigrants should be blamed for it.”
On Easter Monday, hundreds of people attended a candlelight vigil for Shittabey in Tyrellstown. A similar event is planned for 2pm this Saturday 10 April on O’Connell Street, Dublin.
The boy’s family have made known their anger and despair over their son’s killing, which they believe was calculated and racist.
His mother said her son was a very easy-going boy. “All he ever wanted was to play football,” she said.
Shittabey was an Insaka-Ireland soccer trainee and a junior player with Shelbourne FC. In a statement, the directors of Insaka-Ireland – which trains African youth in soccer – extended their deepest sympathies to the family, adding that “young footballers of the African diaspora are regularly subjected to racist abuse during football games and in the street.”
They called on gardaí to investigate if the fatal attack was racially motivated.
Meanwhile, two brothers charged in connection with Shittabey’s death have appeared in court.
Paul Barry, 38, with an address on Pearse Street, Dublin 2 was charged with the manslaughter of the schoolboy, while 23-year-old Michael Barry of Pigeon House Road, Dublin 4, was charged with possession of a weapon, said to be a hockey stick.
A third person, a woman who was arrested late on Easter Sunday, was still being questioned by gardaí at press time.
