OPINION: The courage and compassion of a grieving father and the hard questions he raises

The trial of Deirdre Morley - a 44-year-old mother found not guilty by reason of insanity of killing her children - has been a stark reminder of how fragile the mind is, and how the unfathomable tragedy suffered by the McGinley family could in fact have happened to any of us.

Perhaps because the children’s father Andrew McGinley is from Donegal, it didn’t seem quite so distant as such tragedies sometimes feel. While we usually experience a degree of empathy when we hear of such events, it doesn’t feel like something that could happen to someone we know. 

Or maybe it is the immensity of the tragedy - three beautiful, innocent lives cut short. The now very familiar family photo showing Deirdre Morley, Andrew McGinley and their three smiling children could be any family; there was nothing in that loving snapshot to give any hint of what lay ahead.

But could this tragedy have been prevented?

Andrew McGinley certainly believes so, and he has been incredibly courageous in speaking out. An investigation into his wife’s care, or any reform in mental health care protocols that comes about as a result, won’t bring Conor, Darragh and Carla back. But it could save other lives and it could spare other parents this unimaginable grief and loss.

As well as outlining the harrowing details of how the three McGinley children were killed, Ms Morley’s trial heard details of her mental health problems, and of the treatment she had received in the past. 

Heartbreakingly, it also told us that it had been revealed after the tragedy that Clondalkin Mental Health Services and the Swiftbrook Medical Centre had written to St Patrick’s Hospital requesting that Ms Morley be readmitted due to concerns about her mental health. Her family did not know about this communication. 

At a time when those close to her believed that Ms Morley’s mental health was improving, it was in fact deteriorating, with - as we now know - deadly consequences.

Expert psychiatric evidence at the trial showed that Ms Morley was suffering with bipolar affective disorder at the time of the tragedy. She believed that smothering her children and ‘taking them with her’ was morally right because she thought that she had irreparably damaged them and had to put an end to their suffering.

Many people have been deeply moved by the compassion which Mr McGinley shows for his wife.

In the statement which he issued after the trial, he said: “Everyone who knows Deirdre knows how much she loved our children and how devoted she was to them.”

He goes on to flag the fact that Ms Morley’s diagnosis prior to the children’s deaths was different to her diagnosis afterwards - and that raises very worrying questions.

“If Deirdre’s diagnosis was questionable prior to January 24, 2020 then surely so too was her treatment and medication,” he said.

“We are now also aware of a number of occasions within Deirdre’s professional care when her initial diagnosis should have been queried but none of these seem to have been fully addressed.”

The trial, while it highlighted these issues in terms of their relevance to the verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity, was not the platform to address them further. 

Mr McGinley is now asking the HSE Mental Health Services for an investigation into his wife’s diagnosis, treatment and medication to be conducted as a matter of urgency.

While he is seeking understanding of what happened, it is with the ultimate goal of preventing it from happening again.

Because this was by no means a one-off incident. Mr McGinley tells us that in the last 20 years, 50 children died at the hands of a parent. More than 60% of those parents had previous contact with mental health services. 

He is not the first to bring this to the attention of the public and to that of the authorities who have the power to make the necessary changes to ensure that it does not happen again.

Una Butler, whose daughters Ella and Zoe were killed by their father, has been campaigning since 2010 for families of mental health patients to be included in a more collaborative approach to treatment.

Open communication between medical professionals and those who are in contact with the patient every day could make a world of difference, with red flags much more likely to be raised before crisis point is reached.

Mr McGinley firmly believes that if he had been included in his wife’s care and treatment, Conor, Darragh and Carla would still be alive.

“It is too late for us but I do not want to see another grieving parent speaking in the future about the same exclusion after a similar catastrophic loss. 

“My message here and now to anyone who has a loved one in psychiatric care is to get in there as soon as you can to be added as an advocate for their treatment plan.”

In the meantime, we can all play a part in campaigning for improved, inclusive mental health services. Because as with any other condition, mental illness can strike any one of us at any time. No-one is immune.