The jury in the trial of Deirdre Morley yesterday returned a verdict of not guilty on three charges of murdering her children by reason of insanity.
Her husband and the children’s father Andrew McGinley issued a statement following the verdict. He thanked everyone that had supported the family over that past year – he also thanked the Gardai, DPP, the Jury and the legal teams. Mr McGinley said the verdict is probably the right verdict – he continued – “Everyone who knows Deirdre, knows how much she loved our children and how devoted she was to them. Whatever the outcome of this trial, it remains that our beloved children Conor, Darragh and Carla have died”. Mr McGinley called for an urgent HSE investigation into Deirdre’s diagnosis, treatment and medication prior to this tragedy. Mr McGinley said that such an inclusive investigation can only serve to inform clinicians in their practice and therefore avoid tragedies happening again.
Mr. McGinley highlighted that in the past 20 years over 50 children have died at the hands of one of their parents with over 60% of those people were known to have had previous contact with psychiatric services. He said the Mental Health Act 2001 does not go far enough in ensuring that the family support structures for the patient are fully engaged and included by the mental health professionals treating our loved ones.
He advised 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. Mr McGinley concluded his statement by saying “I will continue to celebrate the all too short lives of Conor, Darragh and Carla to ensure that they are never forgotten.”
Need help? If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article or would like to access support or information, please see the links below to valuable resources:
- Pieta House Tel: 1800 247 247 or text Help to 51444 (pieta.ie)
- Aware – Tel: 1800 80 48 48 (aware.ie)
- The Samaritans – Tel: 116 123 or email [email protected] (samaritans.ie)
- Text 50808 – Text Hello to 50808 (text50808.ie)
- Mental Health Ireland (mentalhealhireland.ie)
- Jigsaw (jigsaw.ie)
