Figures show we need to do far more - Trying to understand suicide

NEARLY every suicide leaves a legacy of heartbreak. That destructive state of mind is often sharpened by incomprehension, guilt, regret, and no little anger. Each and every suicide is also a reminder that to be human is to be vulnerable.

No matter how resilient we imagine ourselves, or our closest family and friends, to be human is a deep mystery, one that sometimes ends in the most tragic circumstances. As the good book says, we know not the day nor the hour. But there is so very much that we do not understand about the anguish, the malign forces, and the merciless, relentless doubts that cause suicide.

One thing we do know is that verdicts of suicide were returned in four of the seven inquests held at the coroner’s court in Killarney earlier this week. This is not an unprecedented ratio, but the age profile is. Three of those who died were in their 50s and one was in his 80s. Heretofore, young men dominated these sad stories, but, it seems, the vulnerability of a different demographic cohort has become a cause for concern.