Galway records eleven suicides in month of January alone

A SENIOR Garda has this week outlined a three pronged approach to tackle an ‘epidemic’ of suicides that has ravaged families and communities across Galway in recent months.

Supt. Gerry Roche told last Monday’s Joint Policing Committee (JPC) in Ballinasloe that a positive, all-embracing approach had to be put in place to try and reduce the number of people – many of them young – losing their lives each year.

The meeting heard that since January, there had been eleven reported suicides in the Galway area. Last year there were 30 reported suicides in Galway.

Supt. Roche told the Connacht Tribune that all Gardaí in the county would receive special training, covering such areas as awareness, prevention, intervention and what is known as post-vention (dealing with families and friends of the victim after a suicide has taken place).

Supt. Roche said that the second area of Garda involvement would involve a networking exercise with communities and voluntary groups, tapping into the expertise of organisations like Pieta House, Console and Aware.

“I suppose in this regard many people are now aware of the GELS group in East Galway, where a very positive effort is being made to increase awareness and to train people to intervene where they may be obvious high risk cases,” he said.

Gardaí will also be taking on board the template created by the Mayo Suicide Liaison Project involving the supply of special support information packs for families where suicides had occurred and also in the provision of a trained counselling service.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune

• Anyone feeling suicidal, depressed or troubled can contact  following lifelines anonymously: Samaritans/ Pieta House – 1850-60-90-90. Console – 1800-201-890. Aware – 1890-303-302.