Alarming rise in suicide rate

February 1998

North Wicklow is facing an alarming rise in the incidence of suicide, it emerged this week.

That’s the shocking view of an expert counsellor who spoke this week of the growing number of local families being forced to cope with the self-inflicted death of a loved one.

‘By its very nature it’s difficult to put precise figures on the scale of the problem, but it’s certainly true that hardly a week goes by without hearing of at least one suicide somewhere in the area,’ said Sister Sheila O’Kelly.

Named last May as Bray Person of the Year in recognition of her outstanding work as a counsellor, she said that four sets of parents coping with a child’s suicide were currently attending her bereavement counselling group which meets weekly in the Holy Redeemer parish centre.

But these relatives represented only the tip of the ice-berg, as she had dealt with many more family members through the group, and learned of still more incidents.

‘I have no doubt that the local suicide rate is on the increase and we would certainly consider setting up a special counselling service fo rthe relatives of those who have taken their own lives.’

Reflecting the findings of the newly published report of the government-appointed task force on suicide, Sr Sheila said that in her experience the vast majority of those who committed suicide were young men, frequently from ‘good homes and good family backgrounds’.