A devastated dad whose then wife killed their three kids hopes a new HSE report about the tragedy will save lives.
Andrew McGinley yesterday revealed that the review, which he asked for after the deaths in 2020, could be published later this month. The children’s mum was found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity, while grieving dad Andrew wants sweeping new policy recommendations published by the HSE.
His sons Conor, nine, and Darragh, seven, and three-year-old daughter Carla were all suffocated to death in their Dublin home by Deirdre Morley. Andrew said: “I am waiting for the HSE review that I called for after the children were killed.
Read more: Devastated Andrew McGinley among parents critical of new study on murder-suicide
“I submitted 97 questions to the review team and I expect that they will all be answered comprehensively. What people want from reports like this is to know that measures are being put in place to answer their questions and to prevent further tragedies.
“I know every horrific detail of how my children died, but I don’t know why they died because I am still seeking answers. I know that Conor died, begging for his life. I need to hear from the HSE.
“I’m not trying to find blame. I’m just looking to understand.” Andrew added: “I wanted Conor, Darragh, and Carla to be the last children to die in a tragedy like this. But nothing has changed and other children have since died in cases where the perpetrator was getting help for their mental health. How many more deaths is enough? It is too late for us, but it is about time that changes are made to save other children’s lives.”
A key change is the mandatory use of Open Dialogue, a term used by the Health Service Executive for what people like Andrew and Una Butler call family inclusion. Both Andrew and Una – whose then husband John murdered their daughters Zoe, six, and Ella, two, in Cork in 2010 and then took his own life – believe family inclusion, which involves mental health patients’ families in their treatment, will save lives.
However, Andrew fears some psychiatrists do not engage with it so he wants the policy enshrined in law because “recommendations are not worth the paper they’re written on if they are not included in legislation like the Mental Health Act”.
Andrew also wants counselling for families and the communities that have suffered murder-suicide tragedies. He said: “There was no HSE critical reaction response in January 2020. It wasn’t until early 2022 that I was asked if there was anything they could do for me. Some of my children’s friends still need counselling and that their sports coaches are still struggling.”
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