As winter approaches and the evenings close in, there is a certain inevitability about life and death in the Galway docks and the Claddagh basin.
If last winter is anything to go by, the rescue services will have regular call-outs and you will read little or nothing about it in this and other newspapers. Only the presence of heartbroken relatives on the quay may indicate that the bay has claimed yet another suicide.
Residents overlooking Dublin's Liffey accept it - if "accept" is the right word - as if they were living beside Brooklyn Bridge. So do journalists and all those who record or have some contact with daily city events. The relatives' right to privacy has been the overriding concern. At least that is how it was until very recently.
Last summer the Star newspaper opened up the debate when it published a front-page photograph of a young, unidentified man who had drowned himself in Dublin. The colour image showed him floating face down in the Liffey water.
It was enough to prompt Dr John Connolly, Mayo county chief psychiatrist and secretary of the Irish Association of Suicidology, to put pen to paper.
"To say that I am appalled . . . is a major understatement," Dr Connolly said of the Star's decision. "This sensational media coverage of suicide is something we in the Irish Association of Suicidology have been battling hard over the years to discourage, thankfully with some success."
Laying down a series of guidelines for the media in his letter, published in The Irish Times, Dr Connolly spoke from broad experience. Not only is he secretary of an organisation hosting annual conferences on the issue, but he is also the proprietor of the Con- naught Telegraph.
What's more, the number of suicides in the western region is above the national average. Western Health Board figures released earlier this year show that it is also the second-most common cause of death among young males in our booming "tiger" economy. In 1995, for instance, the total number of suicides in the Western Health Board area was 13.1 per 100,000 population, compared to 10.7 nationally. In 1996, it was 10.8 in the region, compared to 10.6 nationally.
Dr Connolly has his own theories about the statistics, particularly in small communities. "A survey we undertook between 1979 and 1996 in Mayo found very variable rates, so it is very difficult to interpret what is going on. It was 20 per 10,000 of population in one year, 10 the year before, and eight the year after.
"This is not just a phenomenon in Ireland, but also in other countries," he continues. "Women are better educated now, more adaptable, and find it easier to discuss their emotional difficulties - they are not wedded to a male `macho' role. Also, in the past one could secure a job for life. Now one is expected to change several times and this can have its effects."
Studies on the method of suicide have shown that there has been an increase in more violent means of taking one's life, including shooting and hanging, he says. In his view this may be linked to increases in alcohol and drug consumption - or is it yet another symptom of a frustrated manhood in a society where only sport now places value on physical prowess? What most concerns the consultant is the media's "romantic" treatment, in glamorising the method and encouraging "copycat" responses - known as the "Werther" effect.
Research on the response to the death of rock singer Kurt Cobain of Nirvana supports his argument that a more realistic approach can save lives. As Dr Connolly outlined in his paper to the second annual conference of the Irish Association of Suicidology last year, the anticipated "Werther" effect, or suicide cluster, did not occur in Seattle in the immediate aftermath of the singer's decision to end his life violently.
The crisis clinic in Seattle hosted a press conference, where it acknowledged both Cobain's suicide and thousands of others that occur. "At a special vigil Cobain's wife made an impassioned speech, making clear to all the awfulness and needlessness of what had happened, and the hurt and anger it had caused those close to the deceased," Dr Connolly noted. "All of this succeeded in de-romanticising the event".
Only one suicide in a seven-week period after that was linked to the tragedy, and fewer suicides occurred in the immediate aftermath than in the same period the previous year.
Dr Connolly lists 10 common myths about suicide which are held by the public and by many in the helping professions, and which are worth exposing again and again.
These include the myth that those who talk about it are the least likely to attempt it; that if someone is going to do it, there is nothing you can do about it; that you can get a good idea about how serious someone is by looking at the method used in an attempt; that if someone has a history of making cries for help then they won't do it for real; that only the clinically depressed make serious attempts; that a good "pumping out" in casualty will teach those who make gestures a "good lesson they won't forget"; that those with a personality disorder attempt suicide to manipulate others; that if someone is going to go through with it they will not tell anyone of their intentions and make plans well in advance; that talking about suicide encourages it; and that suicide can be a blessed relief, not just for the individual but for those surrounding him or her.
"All these myths have been disproved by scientific research," Dr Connolly stresses, and he believes the media can have a positive role to play in debunking them by avoiding simplistic explanations, promoting positive mental health and demystifying psychiatric illness. He is convinced that negative and discriminatory stereotyping of the mentally ill acts to deter people from seeking appropriate help for their problems, and says there is plenty of evidence of this.
At the same time he believes the press must also recognise its own limitations, particularly in relation to the value of "talk radio". "Over the airwaves is not the way to help the vulnerable. If someone is very depressed, it is important that they are able to talk in a controlled and caring relationship."
He also disagrees with giving lectures to school students on the issue, as he feels that this only increases the rate and implies that suicide is a rational choice. "It is far more important to pick problem people and use the resources we have to help them."
The Irish Association of Suicidology's third annual conference on suicide prevention takes place on October 17th and 18th in the Welcome Inn Hotel, Castle- bar, Co Mayo. For more details, contact the association at Dr Connolly's office, c/o St Mary's Hospital, Castlebar : tel (094)21733 or fax (094)21466.
