It's been a fairly sad week since I've been back from the States. It seems that all anyone has been doing is going to wakes and funerals. A funeral in Ireland is an event in itself, so to be swamped with more than one in a week can be a lot to handle. One woman I know had to attend 5 this week. I don't know if it's the dreary weather or the cold or what - but I hardly remember more than one or two funerals happening all summer long.
Most of the funerals have been members of an older generation, most of whom had been sick for a long while and passed on peacefully, surrounded by loved ones who had a chance to say goodbye. Although these funerals are still sad and the people are sorely missed, they seem to offer a chance for people to remember and celebrate the lives of the deceased.
There was one funeral this week that marked the unexpected death of a young member of the community who was only 24 years old. He owned his own plumbing business, had a caring family, and an established relationship with a young local girl. He had been missing for about 5 days before a woman from a local rural area found his van while out walking one afternoon. She reported it to the local Guardai (police) and they discovered that the young man was inside, having rigged his exhaust to commit suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning. The community was shocked. Nobody had seen it coming and hardly anyone could understand it. I had never met the chap so I didn't attend the funeral but it was a large one, full of grieving friends and family members trying to make some sense of the situation.
It's a shame to hear so many similar stories in the news and throught he community each week. Ireland has the fifth highest rate of suicide in the 15-24 year old age group and it has quickly become the leading cause of death in that age group. It's become so alarming that the government has been quick to develop Suicide Prevention plans and task forces. They want to make people aware that there are ways to deal with depression and that there is help out there.
I know that there are a good number of suicides in the States each year but I don't remember hearing about them nearly as much as I do over here. I don't know if that's because I have been fortunate enough to not have suicide touch my life directly or if it's because the communities are so much closer over here. It provides for a nasty rumor mill at times, but it also provides a lot of support for family and friends when they go through a crisis like being affected by suicide.
I know this has been a bit of a downer of a post, but it's been a pretty widely discussed topic this week, both on the news and in the local community. It's not something you'd probably hear about at home, so I thought I'd share a bit of the darker side of Ireland.
I'll try to think of something super cheerful to post about tomorrow. Promise! ;-)
Most of the funerals have been members of an older generation, most of whom had been sick for a long while and passed on peacefully, surrounded by loved ones who had a chance to say goodbye. Although these funerals are still sad and the people are sorely missed, they seem to offer a chance for people to remember and celebrate the lives of the deceased.
There was one funeral this week that marked the unexpected death of a young member of the community who was only 24 years old. He owned his own plumbing business, had a caring family, and an established relationship with a young local girl. He had been missing for about 5 days before a woman from a local rural area found his van while out walking one afternoon. She reported it to the local Guardai (police) and they discovered that the young man was inside, having rigged his exhaust to commit suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning. The community was shocked. Nobody had seen it coming and hardly anyone could understand it. I had never met the chap so I didn't attend the funeral but it was a large one, full of grieving friends and family members trying to make some sense of the situation.
It's a shame to hear so many similar stories in the news and throught he community each week. Ireland has the fifth highest rate of suicide in the 15-24 year old age group and it has quickly become the leading cause of death in that age group. It's become so alarming that the government has been quick to develop Suicide Prevention plans and task forces. They want to make people aware that there are ways to deal with depression and that there is help out there.
I know that there are a good number of suicides in the States each year but I don't remember hearing about them nearly as much as I do over here. I don't know if that's because I have been fortunate enough to not have suicide touch my life directly or if it's because the communities are so much closer over here. It provides for a nasty rumor mill at times, but it also provides a lot of support for family and friends when they go through a crisis like being affected by suicide.
I know this has been a bit of a downer of a post, but it's been a pretty widely discussed topic this week, both on the news and in the local community. It's not something you'd probably hear about at home, so I thought I'd share a bit of the darker side of Ireland.
I'll try to think of something super cheerful to post about tomorrow. Promise! ;-)
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