Caroline McGuigan
World Suicide Prevention Day was honoured in
Athlone last week at Hodson Bay Hotel, when Newstalk hosted one of Pat Kenny’s
morning radio shows at the site which Mr. Kenny called the “middle of the
country,”.
The Newstalk radio
host told the nation that he did an early morning walk on the shore, and saw
the stone pillar, Hodson’s Pillar on Temple Island, which is close to the hotel.
“Hodson Pillar was
named after one of Cromwell’s Generals, and also named after the Hodson family,
and it was passed down to the Gunning family,” he said. “PJ Lenihan was the first Irishman to own the
property, and it’s where Mary O’Rourke and her brother Brian Lenihan called
home. It’s a magnificent lakefront
property, and today the mist is burning off the surface of the lake, and it’s a
great day to be alive, but not how some will see it.”
Such was his way of
introducing World Suicide Day at the Killinure Suite at the Hodson Bay Hotel.
First of all, Kenny
had to deal with the news of the day, which included the Leo Varadker saga, and
his dressing down from the Taoiseach about discussing Budget proposals. Michael O’Regan, Irish Times political correspondent
was on the line to discuss the situation with Pat Kenny, and afterwards
Minister for Agriculture and Defence, Simon Coveney came on for the
discussion. Kenny made the Minister
laugh by highlighting that he and Varadker were the next in line to replace
Enda Kenny as Fine Gael leader.
Live music was
provided on the show by the Swing Cats, a group of musicians who personify the
big band era of American music.
The founder and CEO of
the charity, ‘Suicide or Survive’, Caroline McGuigan gave a moving talk with
the presenter about her own history, and a past suicide attempt.
“I was a high
achiever, a perfectionist, and worried what others would think of me, and I was
quite anxious about things, and I had good times, and was a party girl, but
attempted suicide,” said Caroline.
However she went on to
get psychiatric training, and returned to the HSE. She said that one of the first doors she
knocked on where she met someone who believed in her was Denis O’Brien.
“The boss,” said
Kenny, alluding to the fact, that O’Brien owns Newstalk.
“We (SOS) don’t save
lives, but we encourage people to save their own lives,” said Caroline.
There were other
interviewees, including a woman telling of her son’s suicide; a young woman
talking of her suicide attempts, and a young man talking about similar.
One of the
interviewees, while talking about depression gave a John Milton quote, which
almost became a mantra across the room among the invited guests, while the show
was being broadcast.
“The mind is its own
place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven,” – John Milton,
Paradise Lost.
