Sarah Harte: Why Ireland still fails to learn from domestic homicides — and how we can change that

Ireland urgently needs domestic homicide reviews to learn from preventable partner killings and close gaps in frontline responses

The house in Kilnaboy, Co Clare, where the bodies of Claire and Joe Collins were found. Picture: Eamon Ward

It felt like a truly sad week. In Co Clare, an inquest into the deaths of Claire Collins and her husband Joe Collins was returned with an open verdict in Claire’s death and a verdict of suicide in his case.

There is no way to imagine what the Meere and Collins families have gone through and what they will carry with them for the rest of their lives. It’s your worst nightmare. On November 9, 2023, Joe Collins' brother, Brian Collins, alerted the emergency services about the two deaths. The gardaí found the front door of the house open and a note on the stairs, which instructed them to check upstairs and outside. Joe Collins's body was found lifeless at the back of the house. Claire Collins died from asphyxia — she had been smothered with a pillow.