Noeleen Eustace lost her 26-year-old son Kelvin Brennan when he took his own life\n<\/p>\n
Noeleen Eustace lost her 26-year-old only son, Kelvin Brennan, when he took his own life in May.<\/p>\n
Noeleen told how Kelvin, who had been diagnosed with Asperger\u2019s Syndrome, generalised anxiety, dsypraxia and sensory processing disorder, had been let down by a system that does not recognise dual diagnosis.<\/p>\n
She explained that dual diagnosis refers to people who experience both a mental health disorder and a substance use disorder at the same time.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Noeleen with a photo of her son<\/p>\n
However, it is not currently recognised in Ireland\u2019s Mental Health Act, meaning it is difficult for patients to access treatment, particularly in emergency departments.<\/p>\n
Noeleen, who lives in Newbridge, Co Kildare, explained that if Kelvin had presented at hospital with other health problems, such as a \u201cbroken leg or diabetes\u201d he would have got a bed.<\/p>\n
Noeleen revealed how her family desperately tried to help Kelvin, who had attended an emergency department up to 60 times in a single year, and had been expressing suicidal thoughts from a very young age.<\/p>\n
![\"Kelvin\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/449fc884-2214-4f99-8593-39eb7cccbb1b.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Kelvin<\/p>\n
Today’s News in 90 Seconds, Sunday, October 12 <\/p>\n
However, they were left to fend for themselves as there were no supports available to them.<\/p>\n
She is now campaigning to have dual diagnosis included in Ireland\u2019s Mental Health Bill through a petition that has gathered more than 2,630 signatures.<\/p>\n
Noeleen also told how she has heard the stories of many other families who have found themselves in similar situations and are losing loved ones as a result.<\/p>\n
Asked how life has been since she lost Kelvin in May, she replied with one word \u201chorrendous\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI miss him terribly,\u201d she said. \u201cHe was a busy person in the house, in the sense that there was a lot of looking after him and supporting him.<\/p>\n
![\"Kelvin](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/thumbnail_IMG_8909.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Kelvin with his mum Noeleen, had returned to education shortly before he died in May<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a lot of stress and anxiety caused by his mental health that meant daily encouragement and prompting and praising for small things that he would have done.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor him to go to the shops was a massive achievement. He loved his dog too but there would be days when he wouldn\u2019t be able to look after it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say to him, \u2018go out to the garden and throw a ball out the back\u2019 and he\u2019d struggle to even do that because the darkness would be so heavy on him.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes he would and he\u2019d feel better for it but he had to break down every little thing to get a handle on it, simple things that you and I would not even think about.\u201d<\/p>\n
Noeleen said that this would mean Kelvin\u2019s sleep was badly affected as he wouldn\u2019t eat during the day due to the medication he was taking and he would wake up hungry.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was always stuff going on in his head all the time,\u201d Noeleen said. \u201cHe would be texting me, asking me to help with simple things. He couldn\u2019t switch off.\u201d<\/p>\n
Noeleen had noticed her son was struggling from an early age, as he had night terrors at 18 months and was \u201cbanging his head off the cot\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe never slept,\u201d she told Kfm. \u201cRight up until his death, he never slept. We never slept.\u201d<\/p>\n
By the time he reached secondary school he was suicidal and at 13 he told Noeleen he was going to take his own life.<\/p>\n
![\"Kelvin](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/thumbnail_IMG_6414.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Kelvin with his sister<\/p>\n
Following an urgent referral to CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) that eventually confirmed Asperger\u2019s, Noeleen said she thought things would change but \u201cnothing happened\u201d because the services and structures were not there.<\/p>\n
Begging<\/p>\n
\u201cWith somebody who has Down syndrome, they can go into a service. With Asperger\u2019s, there\u2019s nowhere for them, absolutely nothing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Noeleen says she ended up educating herself, taking courses, reading books and even did her dissertation in college on the impact of raising a child with Asperger\u2019s.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did everything I could, but I could not break through the barriers of mental health,\u201d she added. As she told her local radio station Kfm: \u201cI wasn\u2019t a professional. I needed help, and Kelvin needed help.\u201d<\/p>\n
By the time Kelvin was 16, Noeleen would be in A&E departments begging the hospital for a bed as Kelvin told them he was going to end his life.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey refused,\u201d she said. \u201cThey said he didn\u2019t meet the criteria. I ended up ten hours in A&E one time, holding him, hugging him, trying to keep him alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Noeleen explained that Kelvin was using marijuana and occasionally cocaine in a bid to ease his anxiety.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t use it every day but obviously it didn\u2019t help his mental health. But he would have said to me, \u2018ma, my medication isn\u2019t doing enough\u2019. And he would be on the highest dose of anti-psychotic medication.\u201d<\/p>\n
Noeleen believes that if dual diagnosis was recognised in the Mental Health Act it would provide medical professionals with a set of tools that they could then use to treat people like Kelvin.<\/p>\n
\u201cNobody sat down with Kelvin and told him, \u2018this is what you need to do. You need to get yourself drug free, you need yourself clean and sober\u2019.<\/p>\n
Kelvin had requested a community detox but was advised by professionals that the risk was too high. This, Noeleen says, was another door shut.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne has to have an inpatient detox,\u201d she said. \u201cIn Kildare there is only Cuan Mhuire treatment centre and a long waiting list for detox but we were unsure that Kelvin, with Asperger\u2019s [and other conditions] would even get a bed. All that would happen is he\u2019d be offered even more medication, and he\u2019d be on the highest dose of an anti-psychotic.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth strands, the mental health issue and the substance misuse, has to be treated together, in tandem.\u201d<\/p>\n
Noeleen says that since she started bringing Kelvin\u2019s story out into the public eye she has been contacted by a number of people whose loved ones have died in similar circumstances.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an epidemic, a quiet epidemic,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy son didn\u2019t want to die,\u201d she adds. \u201cI know that. I used to say to him, \u2018stop trying to fit in so hard\u2019. I\u2019d tell him, \u2018it\u2019s OK to be on disability for the rest of your life, and I\u2019m OK with that, I support you\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have this house, and when I\u2019m gone you have a home. You have a girlfriend, a fabulous girlfriend, but all he\u2019d say was, \u2018ma, I just want to be like everyone else\u2019. He had hopes for the future, he really did, but it was too much.\u201d<\/p>\n
Noeleen said Kelvin had even returned to education, completing a Level 5 in community and social care.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe died actually two days after graduating. He wanted to go to college. He wanted to work with people. He even had an interview lined up the week after he died.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kelvin\u2019s story was raised in the D\u00e1il by Sinn F\u00e9in Senator Nicole Ryan, who urged the government to ensure the new Mental Health Bill delivers real change, with joined-up services, proper funding, and laws that protect lives.<\/p>\n
A petition created by Noeleen calling for dual diagnosis to be included in the Mental Health Bill has gathered more than 2,700 signatures.<\/p>\n
If you have been affected by issues raised in this article, see below for helplines and support services that are available:<\/p>\n
Alcohol abuse<\/p>\n
Call Alcoholics Anonymous Ireland on 01 842 0700, email gso@alcoholicsanonymous.ie or see alcoholicsanonymous.ie<\/p>\n
Call the HSE Drug and Alcohol helpline on 1800 459 459<\/p>\n
Depression, anxiety, loneliness, suicide risk<\/p>\n
Call Alone on 0818 222 024 or see alone.ie<\/p>\n
Call Aware on Freephone 1800 80 48 48 or see aware.ie<\/p>\n
Call Samaritans free on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.ie; or call Pieta on Freephone 1800 247 247 or text HELP to 51444<\/p>\n
Visit yourmentalhealth.ie or call the Your Mental Health Information Line at 1800 111 888<\/p>\n
Text HELP to Pieta at 51444, call their helpline at 1800 247 247 or visit their website Pieta.ie<\/p>\n
Drug abuse<\/p>\n
Call the HSE Drugs and Alcohol Helpline on Freephone 1800 459 459 or email helpline@hse.ie<\/p>\n
Parenting<\/p>\n
Call Parentline helpline at 1890 927 277 or visit their website parentline.ie<\/p>\n
Jigsaw work with young people aged 12-25. Call 01 472 7010 or visit jigsaw.ie.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Noeleen Eustace lost her 26-year-old son Kelvin Brennan when he took his own life Noeleen Eustace lost her…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":76215,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[103,397,396,61,60],"class_list":{"0":"post-76214","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-health-care","10":"tag-healthcare","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-ireland"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76214"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76214\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}