Olof Gill
FEELINGS of rejection or failure in today’s pressurised Irish society may be why suicide rates are on the increase, according to a Mayo coroner, and more research and greater understanding are needed to help deal with the issue.
Pat O’Connor, Coroner for the Mayo East region, spoke out on the subject at a recent inquest in Swinford, at which he revealed that a full 50 per cent of the inquests held by him in the area in the past five years have related to deaths by suicide.
This disturbing statistic prompted Mr O’Connor to speak out last week. “While suicide is a complex issue, I am aware that a broad approach to its prevention has been recommended by a number of concerned professionals, groups and organisations. The self-inflicted death of any person is always a great tragedy, not only for the person whose life has ended but for the family, friends and the community in the area in which the person has lived. It is a social, educational, community, health and psychological issue which needs great understanding and care,” he said.
He went on to say that gaps exist, at many levels, in understanding suicide and thereby helping to prevent it.
Speaking subsequently to The Mayo News, Mr O’Connor lamented the fact that suicide is still ‘very much regarded as a taboo subject’ in Irish society, particularly in the official domain. “It’s ironic that the public have, to a large extent, come to terms with it and recognise it, but the public domain hasn’t dealt adequately with it, especially in dealing with those who are left behind.”
At last week’s inquests, Mr O’Connor also made reference to the persistent lack of knowledge on this subject in society, and delivered a firm disapproval of insensitive comments made by well-known Irish people in recent weeks. “Regretfully, there still appears to be significant gaps in the understanding, education and awareness of the great personal difficulty suicide causes for families and friends of the victim in some of the top political echelons of our society. Ill-considered, off-the-cuff remarks by political leaders of the country, which may be due to a lack of personal understanding and education, are distinctly unhelpful and above all insulting to all of those bereaved families who have been left to ask why such a death occurred.”
When questioned by The Mayo News as to why he believes suicide rates are on the increase, Mr O’Connor proferred the opinion that it is largely down to the pressures of modern life. “Feelings of rejection or failure are common in modern Ireland, especially in the era of the so-called ‘Tiger Economy’. In the modern pursuit of excellence, everything has to be perfect, and if it’s not, there can often be a feeling of hopelessness which people have difficulty expressing,” he concluded.
