I lost a family member a year ago to Suicide at the Cliffs of Moher. He does not appear on suicide statistics as the verdict returned "Death by misadventure". We spent 6 days looking for him last year and thank God everyday that we recovered his body, due to the extraordinary work, support and expertise of Doolin Search and Rescue.
A year on, I google "Cliffs of Moher Suicide" and find very little on the topic. I am wondering are there any groups at work in Clare looking for more recognition of this site by Clare Co Council, more infrastructural support at the site for families who must spend time there looking for loved ones, more sinage and CCTV facilities in the area, I can understand that Clare Co Council do not wish to associate the site with suicide HOWEVER it is a fact that many distressed people choose this place and I think it is time to break the silence. Silence creates stigma.
For example, so many people came to join us at the cliffs of Moher last year, my poor mother spent the week sitting on a stone wall outside the visitors centre and played out her grief and shock in front of strangers and brash American tourists who were very insensitive at times when enquiring why so many people were upset.(I do not hold this against them) So I wonder how a small "Family Room" with a kettle and a radiator cannot be provided at the visitor centre, this would never promote the site for suicidal people but provide some facilities.
I just want to make clear that the Search and rescue did EVERYTHING in a compassionate and professional manner and I admire their work and thank God for their work every day, why is it left to them to provide a mobile trailer for a family to sit in? For those families that do not recover the bodies how difficult is it to have a working CCTV system (in the car parks and areas around the visitor centre) to allow them some definate conclusion (I understand the horrific implications with this, but trust me, any conclusion is miles better than no conclusion at all) people who came to help us paid to park their car, albeit after a couple of days we learned to tell the people at the cash desks in the car park our reasons for being there and they did allow people to park for free.
None of these improvements will ever bring anybody back but I am talking about making a very difficult and distressing time a little easier for the families involved.