‘Completely shut down’: Woman shares how family secrecy around suicide shaped her life

From hidden family secrets to intergenerational trauma, Irish families share painful stories of suicide — and how healing begins with truth

Mary Casey, who lost her father to suicide when she was aged nine, with a photo of her parents Richard and Kathleen Casey on their wedding day. Picture: Larry Cummins

It was during a family gathering that Mary Casey learned the painful truth behind her father’s death after years of believing he had succumbed to a heart attack.

Then aged 21, she was left reeling after a cousin casually questioned whether she knew her dad Richard’s death was a suicide.