Clergy's role:Bishop of Ferns Denis Brennan said he believed the two priests involved in the Monageer tragedy did what they could based on the information they had.
Dr Brennan said priests often found themselves in situations where they had to approach families for reasons that may be unclear. "So I think that the two priests concerned, Fr Richard Redmond, Fr Bill Cosgrave, did very well on the information they had."
Fr Redmond knew the Dunne family and was asked by gardaí to call on them when concerns were raised after they made arrangements with an undertaker. He spent two hours with them last Friday and asked local priest Fr Cosgrave to visit them the following day. However, Fr Cosgrave received no answer when he called on Saturday afternoon.
Dr Brennan said priests were frequently called to help parishioners in a pastoral capacity.
"If they discover a situation that they are not competent to deal with, they would normally pass on that information or indicate to the people where they needed to go," he said.
He was "shocked and saddened" at the four deaths. "It's a real heartbreaking situation."
Asked on RTÉ radio what he would have done, he said, "I think I would need to know more, much more, and then take the appropriate steps."
He said it was difficult to know if the deaths could have been prevented. "Like most people I don't have the full picture at the moment and it's very hard to say that. A certain amount is known and a certain amount is not known so I really don't know if it would have been possible to prevent it." He said clergy in the southeast were conscious of the high suicide rate in Wexford and had often asked why this was. "We don't have the answers, unfortunately." He said reviews of previous cases may shed some light on this topic.
Dr Brennan said he was confident the local community would do all it could to support the extended Dunne family. "I know from my own experience in parishes that when a tragedy happens in a community, people are wonderful. The way they respond restores your faith in human nature.
"No family can bear something like this on their own. People are wonderful and I have no doubt that the community in Monageer and the other areas where the family would be known, I have no doubt that those communities will rally around and be a great support to the Dunne family."
