Is it a
failure in human nature that is leading to more and more Irish people dying by
suicide?
The emergences of the loss of
faith Irish people seem to have in humanity is the shocking reality of a
society we now live in. The power to trust people with true emotion and to
voice the personal struggles so many of us go through on a daily basis is what
I believe is leading to the increased suicide rates our country now possesses.
The notion of suicide was
something that never entered my vocabulary as a child growing up in Ireland in
the late 90’s, it’s not because it didn’t exist, it’s because the occurrence of
a death by suicide was largely uncommon in comparison to trends in Irish
society today.
Death by suicide is
sensationalised in the media and this was not something that occurred to me
until I became a student journalist immersed in the sensationalised world of
the media. As the transition from bystander to participant in this world has
begun, some serious questions have been raised in evaluation of Irish society.
In the past six months in
Ireland, two separate families have been devastated by the effects of suicide. Erin
Gallagher was found dead at her family home. Erin died by suicide just hours
after posting messages on the social networking ASK FM site saying she was
being bullied. She then revealed on the website ask.fm how she was going to
take her own life
In a shocking similarities the
death of fifteen year old Leitrim schoolgirl Ciara Pugsley is another such high
profile case; Ciara experienced extreme bullying through the anonymous site,
ask.fm, in the months leading to her suicide.
Such high profile suicides
such as those of these two bright and beautiful Irish teenagers raise serious
ethical issues in reporting such deaths. As a journalist you have to consider
what is newsworthy in a death by suicide. There is of course the need to inform
the public of such human tragedy but where do we draw a line. How far does the
need to know go in today’s Irish society.
In such cases there is always
the fear that the publics need to know of such tragic events in their midst
will extend to certain levels of detail, which intrudes into the lives of those
who are left behind following a loved one’s death by suicide.
As a society we blame, we
blame because it is sometimes easier than facing up to the fact that there is
something wrong with a society that is failing so many people. We should be
proud to be Irish but in today’s society, can anyone of us hold up our hands
and say we are proud?
Kate Fitzgerald was a 25 year
old aspiring media professional. A much loved daughter, sister and friend but
tragically Kate’s death on August 23rd 2011 reaffirms the misgivings
of Irish society that continues to fail its citizens and further raises ethical
issues in reporting death by suicide in the media.
The talented young Irish
woman wrote an article in good faith and intrusted her final life work to a
paper she believed in, a paper some may say she had faith in. The article
published outlined Kate’s personal struggle and it was Kate telling her own
story, in her own words.
This was a highly educated
and beautiful young woman, who had everything to live for, but had lost the
faith in Irish society and ultimately her faith in life. She did not name her
employers, she did not name her friends, and she did not name her family.
The emergence of this failure
in Irish Society is that The Irish Times edited the final works of Ms
FitzGerald, with the emergence in the days following Kate’s death of further
details surrounding the employer Kate had worked for. Edited the final life’s
work of a talented young woman was no one’s right except her own. Was this a
grave ethical error on the part of one of Irelands leading newspapers?
The
simple answer is yes
Kate Fitzgerald decided to
take a stand in her final days and fought back her inner demons by writing this
article and left it to a credible paper and this same paper have tainted her
memory by editing a piece that she wrote in good faith. The paper did a great
injustice to the memory of this vibrant young woman. She wasn’t just Kate
Fitzgerald; she was a daughter, a sister, and a friend.
Kate Fitzgerald’s story has
touched the hearts of the nation and whether it was her intention or not, Kate
has helped highlight Ireland's struggle with depression and the certain sense
of taboo it still egos in Irish society. Depression still remains the biggest
silent killer.
In the year that has passed
since her death, thousands of more people have taken their own lives. Where
does it stop? Fighting those personal demons is a fight that is now too often
becoming a losing battle for far too many Irish people.
While Kate Fitzgerald's pain
may now be over, it is a pain her family now have to bear with and the anguish
of losing her. It is a pain that is shared by the Gallagher and Pugsley family
also following the deaths of their beautiful children.
People may search for a moral
at the end of this story but sadly there isn't one. The world continues to
loose beautiful and aspiring young men and woman. As a nation Ireland needs to
revaluate and take stock of what is really important in life. It's about
keeping the faith and willing to believe things do get better, even in those
darkest hours.
The memory of those lost to
suicide will live on because of the love people had for them but what we have
to remember it is only a memory. We have to watch for trigger signs and help
prevent further tragedies such as the increasing deaths by suicide in Ireland.
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