This article is from page 18 of the 2012-07-03 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 18 JPG
ON FRIDAY night, June 22, DJ Trevor White played a poignant piece of music as part of the end of the Junior Cert exams celebrations in the Queen’s nightclub, Ennis. The techno soundcloud mix was produced by 15year-old William Winder.
“Most of his friends, who were present in the night club, were celebrating the end of their exams,” said William’s mother, Caroline.
“He use to love going to the Queen’s disco and he had some friends there so it was lovely to see that it is not just our little community that has been affected. It has gone as far as Ennis and beyond.”
And those friends knew that their late fellow student loved music. They also knew him as a good friend, as Facebook pages testify to a young sensitive man, who was ever the counsellor and listener to their teen- age woes. William Winder was a good friend, who didn’t discriminate between genders or age when he offered help and assistance.
“That was a very special trait he had. William could get down and play with the kids. He was the first grandkid. All the kids just loved him. He was also one of us, the adults. We always counted him as one of us and the kids as the kids,” said his proud uncle, Lee Brennan.
“Even on his Facebook page, he was so proud of his little brother Jacob. A lot of 15-year-olds would be embarrassed by their little brother but, no, he loved it,” added Caroline.
A student at Ennistymon Vocational School, William had a lot of interests. He loved soccer, GAA and badminton, according to his parents.
“Unfortunately, with the Junior Cert, he had to cut back a bit. He loved music and DJ mixing. He loved dancing and golf. Golf was probably his biggest passion next to football and his music,” said his Mum.
A Liverpool fan all his young life, he was also a keen public speaker and was proud of his win in the Lahinch Golf Classic with his friends.
His biggest achievement was, however, no small feat, as he took on and climbed Kilimanjaro in aid of Ennis Voices for Autism. He had planned to climb the mountain again.
“He was always up for helping others – always,” said his proud father, Mark.