“Where along the lines did that mild diagnosis change to insanity?”
Andrew McGiney has said that if the HSE kept him informed of his wife’s mental state and involved in her treatment, his three children “would still be alive today.”
The father, whose children Conor, Darragh, and Carla were murdered by their mother Deirdre Morley last year, has said he is “appalled” that he was not made aware of the extent of his wife’s mental illness prior to the death of their children.
Speaking to the Irish Daily Mail, Andrew said that during his wife’s trial, he heard that she had attended multiple meetings with healthcare professionals regarding her mental illness.
“They knew I existed, but never thought about picking up the phone and telling me that she was feeling this way,” he said. “Dee was coming home to me and putting her best foot forward and being part of the family […]
“I was invited to one meeting with the HSE back in July 2019, and was told that some treatment and medication should work fine for her. Seven months later my three children were killed.
“Where along the lines did that mild diagnosis change to insanity? Was the original diagnosis incorrect and if it was, then the treatment and medication were incorrect.”
Morley was found not guilty by reason of insanity last week. During the trial, jurors were told that they must be satisfied that Morley had been suffering from a mental illness at the time of the killings, and that she did not know the nature of what she was doing, or that it was wrong.
After the trial, Andrew said that the verdict “was probably the right” one. He has since said that he will continue to campaign for the right to family members to be included in their loved one’s mental health programmes where necessary.
He added that he will need his wife to request documents regarding her treatment under the HSE to progress further.
“We’ll have to encourage Dee, but it’ll be extremely hard for her as she’s grief-stricken and deemed to be insane,” he said. “But that’s the only person they will deal with. I have a lot of questions and until I get the answers, I’m still stuck in the dark trying to find some peace.
“Una Butler, whose daughters Zoe and Ella were killed ten years ago, has campaigned long and hard for the need of advocacy, but nobody listened to her. Had they amended the legislation then Conor, Darragh and Carla would still be alive today.”
