Tragic mother was "happy only two days of her life"
THE heartbroken brother of a woman who killed her young child before taking her own life, broke down in the witness box yesterday as he recalled the last few months of his sister's life.
Gerard Gormley was moved to tears and clutched a religious medal as he gave evidence at the second day of an inquest into the deaths.
His sister Madeleine O'Neill (41), originally from Derry, and her nine year-old daughter Lauren were found dead at their Carryduff home in July 2005.
At the first day of the inquest on Wednesday, Northern Ireland's most senior coroner John Leckey heard Madeleine gave Lauren a sleeping pill and smothered her, before hanging herself.
Their deaths came two weeks after Mrs O'Neill had been discharged from hospital after being treated for psychiatric problems.
The inquest heard Mrs O'Neill had been distressed at the breakdown of her relationship with estranged husband John O'Neill, and was also dealing with the aftermath of sexual abuse she had suffered since the age of nine.
The court heard from Mrs O'Neill's cousin Bridie Crawley, a trainee counsellor in 2005, who had attempted to help her cousin through her problems.
Mrs O'Neill had asked Mrs Crawley on May 16 2005: "Is it normal to have suicidal thoughts, and to think about taking your child with you?"
Mrs Crawley immediately referred her cousin to a counsellor and advised she seek help from her GP Dr Patrick Sharkey in Carryduff, which she did.
In her statement, Mrs Crawley admitted she had "highlighted" there may be consequences if Mrs O'Neill told her doctor about considering harming Lauren.
The court later heard Mrs O'Neill had been worried about losing Lauren in the break up of her marriage.
Two days later, on May 18, Mrs O'Neill tried to take her own life by overdosing.
She later wrote in her diary: "I am convinced overdose didn't work because I am meant to take Lauren with me so working on this."
In his emotional address to the court, brother Gerard Gormley spoke about his sister's plans to harm his niece and admitted:"We just weren't aware of how serious the threat was."
However, Mr Gormley said he was convinced his sister had told her GP of her feelings towards Lauren because "she didn't see the point in telling half truths."
Taking the stand, Mrs O'Neill's father John Gormley described his daughter as a "gentle and happy person who always put everyone else first."
Speaking of Madeleine's problems, Mr Gormley said she had confided to him she had only felt happy two days in her life since her sexual abuse; her wedding day and the day Lauren was born.
When asked why he didn't tell Mr O'Neill about the possible threat to Lauren he said: "I should have done. The way Madeleine was with Lauren, she just loved her so much that I could never envisage she would do her any harm."
Mr Gormley was also asked why he had not pushed the matter of Lauren's care with healthcare professionals.
He answered: "We're simple people, we're laymen. It went over our heads but the professionals should have known what this meant."
The O'Neill case caused controversy after it emerged there had been an apparent failure to transfer notes between the doctors who treated Mrs O'Neill at Knockbracken Health Care Park in south Belfast and staff at Gransha hospital in Londonderry where she had been transferred for further treatment.
The inquest is expected to last up to four weeks.
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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