Mental illness - Honouring a brave campaigner

WHETHER you agreed with him or not, it is undeniable that John McCarthy, founder of the mental health lobby group Mad Pride, has put the state to shame by heightening public awareness of the issue of mental illness which, more often than not, has been swept under the carpet, and been the subject of a discredited form of enforced treatment in this country.

As with his friend, the late Mary Raftery, whose fearless brand of investigative journalism was celebrated in these columns yesterday, his passing also warrants public acknowledgement, especially for having turned the spotlight on the plight of people whose rights have been trampled under foot by successive administrations.

As a sufferer of mental illness, he knew precisely what he was talking about. Tragically, after overcoming that personal hurdle and having then survived a battle with cancer, he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease two years ago but approached that challenge characteristic good humour until his death earlier this week. He will be buried in Cork today.