By Emma Costigan

Copyright evoke

Harvey Morrison Sherratt’s parents Stephen Morrison and Gillian Sherratt joined Patrick Kielty in the Late Late Show studio on Friday to discuss the ‘unjust’ death of their son

Nine-year-old Harvey passed away in July following a short illness. The brave young boy finally underwent spina bifida surgery late last year after years of waiting, during which he was removed from the waitlist without his parents’ knowledge or consent.

Stephen and Gillian are now campaigning for improvements to Ireland’s health service for children and they inspired many viewers during their candid interview.

Gillian and Stephen have made calls for Tánaiste Simon Harris to resign after he failed to follow through on 2017 promises he made to tackle issues around spinal surgeries.

The couple is due to meet with the Tánaiste at the end of September, but said their conversations are ‘too little, too late’.

‘He made that promise in 2017, and then last year, after Harvey was removed from the surgical list, he stood up in the Dáil and said that he’d meet us, and he didn’t,’ Gillian said.

‘And that’s one of the big reasons that we’ve been calling him out, because in those emails, and, in all the emails the advocacy groups have sent to him, we’ve outlined these concerns for years,’ she continued.

‘I feel like maybe if he’d listened, maybe things would have been different. I said to him that it’s a pity that it took our child dying to have him willing to meet us now, because he ignored me when I tried last year.

‘He was incredibly apologetic, but as far as I’m concerned, an apology doesn’t help these children.’

Gillian said her beloved son, Harvey, was robbed of his childhood, and explained that she wants to prevent other families from facing the same pain and heartache.

‘I think his death feels incredibly unjust,’ she said. ‘Knowing now that he was only going to live to nine, knowing that he spent the good three years in pain on a wait list, feels incredibly unjust.

‘If Harvey had had the timely access to healthcare, I feel like he wouldn’t have missed so much of his childhood.’

‘We would have more memories as a family, more happy memories as a family, and not so many negative memories,’ she continued.

‘I just feel like it robbed him of a large portion of his childhood, and I think that’s incredibly unfair.’

Naturally, the #JusticeforHarvey campaigners were met with an outpouring of support following their chat with Patrick Kielty on the Late Late Show.

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‘Such brave parents that were badly let down #JusticeforHarvey,’ one Instagram user sympathised.

‘You both have done him proud,’ another commended on Gillian and Stephen’s bravery. Elsewhere, another Late Late Show viewer wrote: ‘My heart breaks for them. They are amazing people.