Irish Examiner view: A darker, uglier side of society

Mercy Hospital killing had the power to give the entire country pause

The grief being endured by the Healy family is the primary consideration: Matthew Healy’s wife Delia passed away earlier this month after a short illness, and now they must deal with the heartbreak of their father’s unexpected death.

The fatal attack on Matthew Healy in Cork’s Mercy Hospital was one of the increasingly rare events with the power to give the entire country pause.

The grief being endured by the Healy family is the primary consideration: Mr Healy’s wife Delia passed away earlier this month after a short illness, and now they must deal with the heartbreak of their father’s unexpected death. Our deepest condolences go to them.

Questions are now being raised about the basic security of Irish hospitals, and the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) pointed out on Tuesday there has not been an audit of hospital security measures since 2016. Little wonder the INMO has called for a full evaluation of the measures and protocols in place in each hospital in the country.

On the surface, these questions appear markedly different to the concerns being raised for years about hospital conditions — about the pressure caused by the numbers attending emergency departments, and the overcrowding which routinely leads to hundreds of patients being kept on trolleys.

Perhaps those issues are more closely related than first appears. It should be acknowledged that if hospitals are operating beyond their capacity, with far more people on the premises than can be safely accommodated, then clearly an unsafe environment is the potential result — though an event such as last Sunday morning’s in the Mercy Hospital could hardly have been foreseen.

Broadening the context even further, are we seeing Ireland become more violent in front of our eyes? 

Between the antics of anti-immigrant provocateurs on their ‘protests’ and outrageous attacks on gardaí such as last Saturday’s in Ballymun, in which an officer sustained permanent damage to his hand, there has been a decidedly ugly tinge to some recent high-profile incidents. A decisive response is needed not only to address such incidents specifically, but also to restore confidence that Ireland will not be kotowed to these malign actors and their attempts to influence our society.