Francine McIlveen was 13 when her brother was murdered and the devastation affected every area of her life. She and her brother had attended St Patrick's College in the town but after Michael's death Francine found it impossible to walk the corridors without him.
"Not seeing him every day and not hearing his voice, it was just unbearable," she explains.
"It broke us all. Even now, 15 years later, it might seem to others that it's a long time, it's still raw. We talk about him every day. If he was here he should be working away and have his own wee family.
"It gets harder as another year passes. We had Michael's 30th in December and that was very hard for us all. He's gone the length of time he lived for and to see the ones who did that out... I don't know how they can sleep at night."
Francine, now 28, says she cannot forgive those responsible.
"I will never forgive them. They knew what they were doing to Michael. They knew the hurt and injuries."
Read more:New witness claims Michael McIlveen killer confessed knife used in fatal attack, family reveals
She says Michael's violent death at the hands of other young people from his home town took the biggest toll on their mother.
"Mum has never been the same. When they done that to Michael they took a part of her away. She was never the same woman as she was when we were together.... My mum and Michael had a bond that was unbreakable."
A week before Michael was killed he had become godfather to his older sister's baby boy. That child is now 15, the age Michael was when his life was taken, and Francine says the significance weighs heavy on her.
"Whenever I look at him I realise how young Michael actually was. He was just a child. How could you hurt another human being?"
Michael died surrounded by his family in Antrim Area Hospital and they asked The Irish News to publish a photograph taken moments after his life support had been turned off. Even in the grip of their own pain, the McIlveens hoped that by showing people the reality of a child's violent death it might save another family from the curse of sectarianism.
Today, 15 years on, the family seeks comfort in watching treasured old videos of Michael as a child and then as a spiky haired teenager with a ready smile and lust for life.
Francine says it's her brother's smile that she remembers most.
"He was happy go lucky with a big cheesy grin and he always had a smile on his face. He was a happy child."
Read more:New witness claims Michael McIlveen killer confessed knife used in fatal attack, family reveals
