Activist not offended at suicide remark

RADIO INTERVIEW:REMARKS BY Gay Mitchell suggesting that he would throw himself off O'Connell Bridge if asked to smile anymore have been described as "not intended to cause hurt" by one of the foremost campaigners on suicide in the State.

Joan Freeman, founder of Pieta House, the centre of the prevention of self harm and suicide, was commenting after the presidential candidate made his comment in a radio interview.

Talking to George Hook on Newstalk yesterday evening, Mr Mitchell said he was sick of being told to smile more. “If anybody says to me anymore ‘smile’, I will jump off O’Connell Bridge,” he said. “I’m sick of people telling me smile, smile, smile. Smiles do not deliver jobs, smiles do not deliver the sort of thing that this country needs which is moral leadership.

“I will smile when I need to smile but I don’t believe in the smiling business for the sake of smiling. I believe in being genuine, authentic, committed, working, being on the real side, not the pretend side.”

John Connolly, founder of the Irish Association of Suicidology, described the comments to RTÉ as “unfortunate”.

Mr Mitchell has said addressing Ireland’s high suicide rates would be one of his priorities.

Ms Freeman said she had not heard the interview itself but had heard about it.

“To be perfectly honest I am not offended at all. It was an off-the-cuff remark in a live interview and I am sure it was not intended to cause hurt or distress.

“In fact this Government has been better and more compassionate on the issue of suicide than any before it. Within its first two weeks in office the Taoiseach phoned me and invited us in for a dialogue on how to reduce suicide.

“I genuinely do not believe he meant any hurt by that comment. And I am sure he is genuinely sick of being told to smile.”

At another point in the interview, Mr Mitchell said it was not well known that he loved a “ bit of a joke”.