Connacht Tribune
Galway Coroner’s Court hears of five suicide cases in five-month period
A 14-year-old boy died by suicide at a time when everything in his life was just “falling into place”, the Coroner for West Galway was told last week.
This was just one of five cases of death by suicide to come before the Coroner Dr Ciarán MacLoughlin over a two-day period last week – all of which happened between May and September of last year.
The Coroner’s Court heard evidence into the deaths of two men, a school boy and a young woman, all of whom died by hanging – and one retired woman who died following the ingestion of a toxic substance.
The young boy, who was just days short of his 15th birthday, had been in “good form” in the weeks before his death and there had been no sign of what was to come.
His mother told the inquiry that he had recently been diagnosed with Dyslexia and good supports had been put in place at school.
She said the boy, who just gone back to school where he was starting third year, was an “angel” at home – happy once he was able to cook and clean.
He had stayed home to clean on the day he died, deciding just before the rest of his family left, that he did not want to accompany them to a child’s birthday party.
When his mother returned home around two hours later, she found her son in a non-responsive state and alerted emergency services. He was pronounced dead soon after.
Dr MacLoughlin found, in accordance with the medical evidence, that his death was caused by asphyxia due to hanging, and expressed his sincere condolences on what he described as “the very tragic and sad circumstances of this young man’s death”.
In another case, the court heard how a woman her sixties had attempted two previous overdoses at her home before ingesting a highly toxic substance ten weeks before she died in University Hospital Galway.
The woman, who was single, had emergency surgery to treat the damage to her gullet caused by the substance. However, the irreversible damage to her organs led to her condition deteriorating and she died in ICU from pneumonia, brought on by the ingestion of the substance.
A relative told the Inquest that the woman had been diagnosed with a personality disorder six months previously, but that up until then there had been no signs of any mental illness.
Dr MacLoughlin returned a verdict in accordance with the medical evidence describing it as “a very tragic outcome”.
Evidence was heard of a 19-year-old woman who died by suicide who was found dead by her brother at the family home.
Despite various attempts to resuscitate her, she was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Coroner heard evidence of a man in his fifties who died as a result of asphyxiation at his home in the west of the county.
It was recorded that the man had not been seen for two days before he was discovered by his brother who became concerned about his well-being, having not heard from him.
In accordance with medical evidence, the Coroner ruled that the cause of death was asphyxia due to hanging.
The death of a man in late 40s who went missing for four days and was later found dead in a wooded area, was as a result of asphyxiation, Dr MacLoughlin ruled upon hearing the report of the consultant pathologist.
Manager of Pieta House on Merchants Road, Galway City, Marie Whyte, told the Galway City Tribune that even one death by suicide is one too many – and implored people to seek help if they are in any doubt over their mental wellbeing.
“If you are in any doubt, don’t wait – just come in to us, or call us. It always helps – the talking therapy helps because it takes a load off,” said Ms Whyte.
“We need to be getting that message out to young people and we’re doing that thorough the Resilience Academy in schools. That’s about teaching resilience and to be more aware of mental health – and to reduce the stigma around it,” she added.
Ms Whyte said that statistics and numbers can sometimes be misleading, but it was important to remember that every person who dies by suicide is a human being and another life lost.
■ Anyone affected by the issues raised in this article can contact Pieta House on (091) 502921 or 1800 247 247; or Samaritans on 116 123.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
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Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
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