Grieving family hits out at media over coverage of suicides

THE family of a teenage brother and sister who died by suicide within 10 weeks of each other yesterday hit out at the media for trampling on their grief.

In a statement issued through a friend, the family of 17-year-old Rachael and 18-year-old Philip Madden said: “The family want to state that we are devastated and totally upset at the manner in which our grief has been trampled on by the media, even on Tuesday, the day of Rachael’s funeral, and yesterday, as we were still only starting to try to cope with an awful grief.”

Family spokesman John “Mashen” McInerney, who is a Fine Gael member of Clare County Council, said guidelines that used to be adhered to by the media in relation to the coverage of suicide seem to have been torn up.