A TEARFUL mum has spoken of her pride for her “awesome” daughter after she took her own life.

Sevy Lemoine-McGinnes described her 17-year-old daughter Niamh Lemoine-Drever as “a force to be reckoned with” following her death on Sunday.

Emergency services were called to Niamh and Sevy’s home on Dunbar’s Rigg Park last Thursday afternoon after she had taken an overdose.

The teenager had been “bouncy and happy” earlier in the day but her mum said: “You never know what is underneath.”

Niamh went into cardiac arrest before being placed in an induced coma by paramedics, with an air ambulance also called out.

The former Dunbar Grammar School pupil was then taken by ambulance to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.

Her mum said: “When she arrived, she was still in cardiac arrest and then went onto a machine called an ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation), dialysis and a ventilator.

“Then, everything proceeded to go wrong and downhill.

“She remained on all those machines until Sunday, when the decision was made to turn them off and treat her with palliative care.

“She died soon afterwards at 1.31pm.”

Sevy described her daughter as a “fierce advocate” for LGBTQ rights and women’s rights – and urged as many young people and residents as possible to attend an upcoming community information event on mental health services as “so many kids were struggling” just now.

She said: “Niamh was a storm-in-a-tea-cup-type person. She was fiery and excitable one minute and sad and ever so tortured the next.

“But when she was up, she was bright, articulate and clever – so clever, and talented.

“She used to be a British champion Irish dancer with Aine Hay Dance Academy. She was a sea cadet and did really well there in Dunbar.

“If she did something, she did it well. She was a force to be reckoned with; she was awesome.”

The community has rallied round the family to offer love and support.

Sevy, 44, who works as a medical receptionist at Gullane Medical Practice, thanked everyone for their support.

She added: “I am so grateful and thankful to the entire community for their love and their generosity at this time.”

An online donation page has been set up by a family friend to “help Niamh Drever’s family and give her the send-off she deserves”.

Within 48 hours, the page had collected more than £5,000.

Sevy had initially been hesitant about a page being set up but, speaking on Tuesday afternoon, she said: “I don’t think it has even been 24 hours that it has been running and I have just been overwhelmed by the generosity of the people in the town and surroundings.

“There are even strangers on there and I feel absolutely swamped with love.

“Even outwith the Justgiving page, there have been other things, a number of things, that people have come to me with and donated towards the funeral to give my daughter the send-off she deserves.”

Niamh, who had two older brothers, Chris and Michael, an older sister, Marie, and a younger brother, Sean – a pupil at Dunbar Grammar School – worked at the bar at The Brig and Barrel on Belhaven High Street.

James Hughes, owner, said the business would be “a bit lost without her” and said they were there to support the family.

He added: “It is tragic. It has left everybody absolutely devastated.

“Niamh joined us a few months back and, although she had only been here quite a short time, she had made a real big impact and really fitted in well with the team.”

Niamh’s funeral takes place next Friday (January 31), with a service at Belhaven Parish Church at 10.30am.

Sevy encouraged people to take fairylights in a jar, with the service followed by her burial at Deerpark Cemetery.

Ahead of the funeral, Sevy highlighted an upcoming community information event on mental health services, which is planned for the town’s Bleachingfield Centre on February 6.

She said: “It is so important that we make this event known.

“We have got a number of large schools in the area and, especially with social media, kids are really struggling to manage on so many levels; whether it be the way they look, the way they feel, the way people bully them, it is just on so many levels.”

Claire Slowther, headteacher at Dunbar Grammar School, also paid tribute to Niamh, who left the school in 2018 at the end of S4.

She said: “Staff and students at Dunbar Grammar were extremely saddened to hear of Niamh’s passing.

“We will remember her as a bright girl and a very talented dancer.

“Over the past few days we have been sharing memories and remembering her with fondness.

“Students and staff have been offered a range of ongoing support.

“We send our love and thoughts to her family at this difficult time.”

Touching comments have also been left on the Justgiving page by members of the public to the family, including: “Just read about this and am reeling with the shock. I can’t imagine what you are going through. All I can say is I am sending all my love.”

Another said: “I am devastated for you and your family, thinking of you all and sending all my love.”

To make a donation to support the family, click here.

If you are worried a child is feeling suicidal, it is important to get help straight away. Trained NSPCC counsellors can provide help or advice over the phone on 0808 800 5000. Children and young people under 19 can also get support from Childline online or over the phone, 24 hours a day, via 0800 1111.