It was with great sadness and utter disbelief that I read the front page of yesterday's Irish Examiner. It was about a Limerick couple who have lost their three and only sons, one by one.
The article was heart wrenching, sickening and it struck a chord with me. It shook me to my very core.
The deaths of their sons were all tragedies, something no-one should have to endure. You wouldn't wish it on your worst enemy. Donal, a three month old child died from cot death in 1983. 20-year-old Noel died eight years ago in a car accident and their eldest son Liam (31) was just buried last Friday. He died following a work accident while loading a skip on to a lorry at a farm near Castleisland.
Reading this as a journalism student didn't matter. If it happened to my brothers/sisters or my father I wouldn't be able to cope. Just looking at the pictures of the three sons, a normal hard-working family, it is hard to envisage that they are all gone. Liam leaves behind a daughter and a son. They will never know their fathers character. A picture paints a 1000 words, but will that be enough?
I cannot express my admiration for the courage the O'Connor family have shown. It makes me question what we all take for granted, and to link in with Orla's earlier article on religion-I have to ask the questions: where was God for the O'Connor family and why do bad things happen good people?
They said after Donal's death: "It was heartbreaking burying our baby but we said it's God's will and there were no answers."
The article was a powerful example of how journalists can touch people and discuss an extremely sensitive and difficult topic with the utmost dignity and respect. An example to follow.
D.K
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I can't imagine how difficult it must have been to interview a family who has been touched with such misfortune and sadness but it was handled well by The Examiner's reporter. It is such an awful situation.
ReplyDeletePM