Galway suicide patrols a ‘bad idea’

A leading suicide prevention campaigner in the city has expressed grave concerns about volunteer patrols being put in place along the banks of the Corrib without proper training or coordination with the emergency services.

The concerns follow a series of calls this week for voluntary foot patrols alongside the river, specialised netting at two city bridges, and even a special “watch tower” to deal with Galway’s suicide crisis.

While Console spokesperson Margaret Tierney has backed calls for suspended netting at the side of two city bridges, she told the Galway City Tribune she had “deep concerns” over well-meaning, but unqualified, volunteers attempting to deal with the problem.

“If anyone is thinking of patrolling the Corrib, they would need to be competently trained,” said Ms Tierney yesterday.

A Facebook page called Galway Suicide Watch, which hopes to coordinate patrols similar to those already in place in Limerick and Wexford, has attracted a phenomenal 10,000-plus ‘likes’ since it was set up on Monday.

“It is fine to deploy volunteers along the banks of the Corrib, once they are trained. People should be working with the likes of the RNLI lifeboat crew and other emergency services. If people are thinking of patrolling the Corrib, they need to be competently trained.”

Ms Tierney said that Gardai, firemen, and lifeboat crews were trained to deal with people in crisis, but any volunteers who intended to patrol the area needed to undertake specialised courses.

For more on this story, see the Galway City Tribune.