Knowing that grief is a great leveller can be a comfort

THE Taoiseach’s moving account of the loss of his children – his son Ruairí’s cot death at only five weeks old followed by the crushing blow of his seven-year-old daughter Léana’s death from heart problems – showed another side to the ultracautious and reserved figure he cuts in the Dáil.

Like many political figures, from former health minister James Reilly, who battled to get services for his son with Asperger’s syndrome, to former minister Finian McGrath whose daughter has Down Syndrome, Micheál Martin believes the experiences have shaped his politics.

‘I would have always been a fighter for children,’ he says, ‘even though some people might say,

“you aren’t, or you didn’t do this, or you didn’t do that”. I would think in the aftermath of Léana that I would fight very hard… Even as

Taoiseach I get angry with the system. I don’t like parents having to fight so hard for things in education, things in health that should be more accessible... I would like to think it gives me some sense of understanding of what other parents are going through.’

At the risk of joining the ranks of doubters, I can’t recall any political action that would cast Micheál Martin as a particular ally of sick children. Perhaps I’m forgetting something from his time as health minister, but it’s generally accepted that the smoking ban was his greatest legacy.

That said, his speaking from the heart about how he coped with the devastating deaths of his children is an enormous service to families dealing with the trauma of a sick child. Knowing that some of the most powerful people in the land have trod a similar path can often be the only thing to hang onto during the dark night of the soul.