Verdicts of suicide in four out of seven inquests
Three of the four who died were in their 50s, including one woman. The fourth was a married man, aged 82, whose body was found by his daughter who went to call him to lunch.
Two of the suicides, involving a man in his mid-50s near Kilgarvan, and a 52-year-old woman in Waterville village, took place at the Christmas and new year period. The others took place in February and last September.
Coroner Terence Casey said while suicides in Kerry had declined, there were still too many and it was the people left behind who suffered.
Two of the men who took their own lives had suffered from depression.
One of the men, from Mid-Kerry, had been hospitalised just weeks before his death at Kerry General and received treatment for the illness, Mr Casey was told.
Alcohol was a factor in one case — that of the 52-year-old woman. She lived with several cats and dogs, and was found dead on New Year’s Day in Waterville.
Witness told how the woman was found lying on the ground near her home in a very drunken state on New Year’s Eve.
The jury returned unanimous verdicts of suicide in all four cases.
The coroner, Terence Casey, said he sympathised with the grieving families, as did Supt Flor Murphy and the chairman of the jury.
“Even though numbers have dropped drastically, there are still too many,” Mr Casey said.
