The house of horrors - Could it happen in your area?

WE have had to accept that terrible abuse was inflicted on thousands of children by evil and predatory paedophiles so we should not be easily shocked when another horror story kicks its way into our consciousness.

However, the abuse inflicted on six children by their alcoholic mother, as revealed in Roscommon, will cause anyone who ever felt the slightest tenderness towards a child to wince in shame, horror and shock.

After the last two decades we cannot say, as Bishop John Magee of Cloyne has, that “we are in learning mode”.

We know what we are talking about and we know what the appropriate, unavoidable response is.

All of us have to reflect again on how we can still turn a blind eye to such awfulness; how we can just look on as such a human and inhuman tragedy unfolds.

Why did these children have to endure for so very long?

Why were they left in the care of a woman who could hardly look after herself much less her children? Why weren’t the health services more assertive?

Why did it take 13 years to reach yesterday’s pathetic conclusion?

This question is relevant as this is not the first time the Western Health Board has been in this position.

The case of the McColgan family came to light in 1995.

Joseph McColgan physically and sexually abused his children for 20 years. His family made more than 300 contacts with health staff, doctors or nurses but their appeals went unheeded.

It must be accepted though that the health board was hindered in its efforts in 2000 to take the children into care by a Catholic organisation which funded a High Court appeal by the mother to block a care order.

However, the board did not avail of legislation to return to the district court at any time it felt it necessary.

All this leads to too many angry, obvious questions that probably all have the same answer: as a society we always seem to take the easy option and if that means ignoring evil by staying silent that’s what we’ll do.

As a society we have a dark, cold side we need to confront.

No matter how you dress it up or complain about bad law or parents’ rights, this tragedy should not have endured over a decade.

Yes, the law might need to be changed.

Yes, sentencing must be made gender neutral so men and women are treated the same if convicted.

Yes, there are deep cultural and religious traditions to overcome.

Yes, we need better social welfare and health services but if we can’t protect children in such obvious and public danger then we too are guilty.

As President Barack Obama said during his inauguration speech on Tuesday, everything begins at community level and today, as a Roscommon community faces its few hours of unwelcome attention, each of us must ask ourselves if this could happen in our own community. We must ask ourselves if we would have the courage to intervene to do the right thing. Sadly, the evidence suggests that many of us can’t so it is just a matter of time before the next outrage is uncovered.

To paraphrase President Obama: “Yes, we could ...”