Sir, - I am writing to acknowledge the courage of Rosaleen McCabe and to thank her for her restrained and excellent letter on suicide (May 14th).
Like her, I am the father of a 20-year-old boy who took his own life (out of the blue) just over a year ago - a lovely boy, intelligent and talented and loved by his family and friends.
Like Rosaleen, I believe that suicidal thoughts are an illness. I also believe that they can be fatal within a short time. This illness is widespread at present in all walks of life. It comes upon one in the same "natural" way that a cancer grows in a person.
If any person detected in themselves signs of such an illness with its danger of being fatal, the first thing they would do would be to tell those closest to them and to seek medical advice. Unfortunately, this is not what happens when a person becomes suicidal.
I feel that this is the case especially with young men, who sometimes blame themselves even more for feeling this way and descend into the "black tunnel" in which their reasoning becomes restricted and distorted.
I believe that in time the state of mind that generates suicidal thoughts will be recognised by society as an illness that is all too "natural", which has to be talked about and guarded against and which can be cured completely if it is dealt with in time. I am convinced that given the "right" circumstances this illness can happen to anyone but that people generally don't realise this and think that it only happens to someone else, someone that is not "right", or that there is some explanation for it. Experience shows that there is often no reason known for it.
Finally, I am writing to let Rosaleen know that I and many, many more share her concern (and her heartache) and to thank her for informing the debate as she has done.
In passing, might I commend the excellent courses on this subject run by Father Tony Byrne and Sister Kathleen Maguire in St Mary's College, Rathmines. - Yours, etc., S. .J KEANE, Sandyford, Dublin 16.