The heartbroken mother of Josh Dunne has lost herself in grief since his death – but vowed she will be back fighting for her son this year.
Diane Dunne is preparing to mark the second anniversary of her boy’s passing this month. In an interview with Dublin Live, Diane told us: “I feel like the grief is after taking over me and I didn’t have the strength to keep fighting for Josh. That’s why I had to take a step back. But I’m not going to let it go. I’m fighting for Josh’s name and memory.”
Josh was stabbed to death at East Wall Road in Dublin’s north inner city on January 26, 2021. Brazilian food delivery cyclist George Gonzaga Bento admitted to stabbing the 16-year-old but was found not guilty of murder and walked free from court last summer after a jury accepted that it was a case of self-defence.
Read more: Josh Dunne's mam says public should be allowed to see CCTV footage of his death
The trial heard that Josh was unarmed during the incident and he was not known to gardai in any way. The court heard that Josh did not attack the delivery cyclist until he stabbed his friend, to which the young lad reacted by punching Bento repeatedly before the delivery man stabbed him twice in the chest.
Diane says she and her family were left devastated by the abuse on social media aimed at her son. And she insists she will now fight for his good name to be restored.
She said: “The thing was Josh was a great kid. He wasn’t in any way a bit of a bold child or was in trouble with the police. The amount of things people in the community and the football clubs have done for him shows that he was someone of good character.
“But after the trial there was a lot of racist abuse and saying Josh deserves it. That was very difficult to take. I want to fight for Josh’s name and I want the CCTV footage shown so people can see what happened and show it. So I want to meet the Director of Public Prosecutions about that and then we’re going out on to the streets for peaceful protests to get Josh’s name cleared.”
Diane also insists that she wants to raise the issue of her not getting to make a statement during the trial. Relatives of victims can make these statements after someone is convicted to get across the impact it has had on their lives.
But as Bento walked free, Diane never got that chance and she believes that should change. She said: “It felt like Josh was the person on trial through it all. I feel like we were never heard over that trial and that we should have been allowed.”
Read more: Mum of tragic Josh Dunne says son 'should be here celebrating' on 18th birthday
Following the trial Bento returned to his native Brazil within days while her family have to live through each milestone without Josh, explaining she had to collect his secondary school graduation cert. Diane told us: “That man gets to live with his family back in Brazil and we’re here without Josh.
“My Josh doesn’t get to come home. If you think about it, the last few years Josh has missed his 18th birthday, his Leaving Cert results, his graduation from school, his debs – all these milestones.
“I had to go up and get his cert at his graduation. That was very hard and emotional. Everybody was crying. It was horrible. His friends were all talking about how hard it was to get through school. All the kids, my older ones are really feeling it now and are struggling.”
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