Mick Clifford: Mother failed by system that lets law and mental health collide

The State imprisoned a damaged woman because she could not afford to pay a small sum for bail over an offence attributable to her illness. She paid with her life, writes Mick Clifford

Monika Nawrat died in the Mater Hospital on October 14, 2019, after attempting to take her life in Dóchas women’s prison nine days previously

Monika Nawrat was 33 when she died. She was a native Pole, the mother of two young children, and had been living in Ireland for over a decade. 

Life was not easy for her as she suffered from mental health difficulties.