Death in Wexford

Like Drogheda, the name Wexford springs back the coiled clock to dark, fresh memories of Cromwell. Before this it was the place where the Normans first set foot in Ireland following Art Mac Murraigh's appeal to Strongbow and the first Norman castle was soon after erected at Ferrycarrig. Before this again, as the name Wexford implies, the Vikings arrived.

But of late the Slaney River which flows through the county and which was a major artery of conquest in the past, has been the bringer of death to the modern age. No river has taken more suicides by drowning in recent times, many of them young people from places close to the bank, some of these in what seem to have been pacts and agreements between themselves, some with drink and some without as if the waters held some ancient call, some ancient voice.

On the afternoon of Saturday April 16 mother of three Sharon Grace and two of her children Michela, 4, and Abbi, 3, booked a taxi from the village of Barnmeen into Wexford Town, got off at the Quays and walked across Wexford Bridge toward the beauty spot of Katts Strand where the Slaney enters the sea.

Someone later confirmed that they saw the three of them heading in that exact direction about eight o'clock in the evening and the next morning around ten o'clock, three bodies were found by fishermen floating 100 metres off the shore.

According to a local doctor, Sharon's psychological condition had worsened in recent times since the break up of her marriage. She had been visited by her sister Lilian the same Saturday afternoon before she left for Wexford who said she had been crying for some time and had told her to “keep her head up,” promising to call again for a “heart to heart” that evening. Sharon had asked her to bring a bag of coal when she returned. That was the last they saw of each other. Her eldest daughter Amy, 11, had been away on a school trip on the Saturday and when she returned was surprised to find nobody at home.

The local Welfare agencies revealed early on Monday that they were “on the point” of intervening over fears for  Sharon's mental health. That's the bitter pill— “were on the point of.” So why didn't they intervene when they knew the facts of Sharon's deep emotional stress that was spiraling out of control? Surely the motto should be—if in doubt, act! Ireland has one of the highest suicide rates in Europe and Wexford is among the highest of these.

I hope the authorities look after Amy who is now bereft of all family, of mother, sisters and father. Memories of Cromwell flood back like the Slaney. Parents and children slaughtered and not a one to protect them.