Action on Suicide Alliance held its first Remembrance Procession in April 2008. Around 300 people comprising bereaved families and friends of those who have lost their lives through Suicide took to the streets of Dublin in a dignified silent Procession led by a lone piper.
Dublin, Wednesday, 23 April 2008
From outside Garden of Remembrance at Parnell Square to Dail Eireann, Kildare Street
The Procession of families and friends made a powerful impact on the streets of Dublin. From Parnell Square to Kildare Street, as the Gardai brought the traffic to a standstill, and pedestrians on the pavements stopped and watched in silent respect as the Procession passed them by,
But the single most important contribution to its success was the participation of the bereaved families and the ownership that these families took of the Procession. The objective of the Action on Suicide Alliance was that the Procession progress with dignity and respect and we achieved this. The Procession made a greater impression on the city than we could ever have hoped. No placards were needed; no loudhailer to announce our presence; just a simple banner “Action on Suicide” and the faces looking out from the photographs held with love and sadness by the families who walked in silence in the Procession.
As one Mum said, “If this saves one parent from walking these steps, then I’ll walk anywhere”.
Representatives of the Action on Suicide Alliance had an opportunity on arrival in Kildare Street to meet with Minister Jimmy Devins at Dail Eireann.
The delegation comprised Alliance Chairman, John Saunders; Console founder Paul Kelly; Teen-Line Ireland founder Maureen Bolger and 3Ts (Turn the Tide of Suicide) Chairman, Noel Smyth. The delegation had a 50 minute meeting with the Minister discussing the issues as outlined in the Action on Suicide Alliance Mandate.
Essentially we set out our demands for increased resources of €10m per annum for next 5 years; full implementation of various policy documents that the Government have signed up to and the need to co-ordinate nationally all the valuable activity being carried out by voluntary bodies, large and small, in every county in Ireland.
Minister Devins listened carefully to our presentation. In his response he set out clearly that the budget allocation for 2008 was already set and he did not envisage any significant changes. He did acknowledge there was a need for the prioritisation of suicide prevention and we asked him to consider very carefully in the context of 2009 Budget the issue of a National Co-ordinating body to ensure that all of the Government strategies and all of the work of the voluntary bodies is effectively managed. He listened carefully to the proposal and found some merit in it. Much of the discussion was taken up with how this “Authority” might function. By the end of the discussion it was agreed that this was a worthwhile endeavour that need not necessarily cost a huge amount of resources and he agreed to consider this further.
Finally we all agreed that the issue of Suicide is of crisis proportions in Ireland and had a huge personal, economic and social effect on our society, on families and on individuals. The delegation emphasised that they would be in contact again with Minister Devins to follow up on this.
Maureen Bolger of Teen-Line Ireland, a Mother who lost her Son, Darren, to suicide, brought a photo of Darren with her to the meeting with Minister Devins. Maureen showed him her son’s face, the face of many young people who are dying from Suicide.
It is clear that the Procession made a significant impact on Minister Devins and he welcomed our recommendations. In order for Minister Devins to make any progress in this regard, we must continue to raise the issue at political level.
This is possible only with the continued involvement of families and friends. The Procession could not have happened without their vital support.
It is our intention to build on the foundations of our first Remembrance Procession and hopefully provide a stronger voice for bereaved families at similar events in the future.
We would like to sincerely thank most sincerely all those who participated in Wednesday’s Action on Suicide Remembrance Procession.