The parents of Kate Fitzgerald have criticised The Irish Times for its handling of an article their daughter wrote before she took her own life.
Ms Fitzgerald wrote an anonymous opinion piece for the newspaper, published on September 9th last, which outlined her efforts to deal with depression and workplace attitudes to mental health.
Her parents later contacted the newspaper after recognising their daughter’s words and an article on her life was published on November 26th last. The newspaper subsequently edited the initial article online and published a clarification after further details of her final months emerged.
In a statement, Tom and Sally Fitzgerald claimed the paper had “butchered” the article by removing key parts of it. They also said an apology in the newspaper which stated that the article contained “significant assertions which were not factual” was equivalent to calling their daughter a liar.
In the statement, Mr and Mrs Fitzgerald said they spoke to Kate almost every day for the last weeks of her life and believe that what she told them in those conversations validated the content of her final article.
“We are happy that her final words have touched so many lives and promoted an awareness of mental health. We have heard from many people how it changed lives, and several people were inspired to seek help for themselves because of it,” they wrote.
"We are deeply hurt by the insensitivity of The Irish Times and its inability to grasp how its position has compounded our grief and attempted to stilt the national debate on depression and suicide."
Mr and Mrs Fitzgerald said that in a meeting at The Irish Times offices earlier this week, the editor of the newspaper had apologised for any distress caused to them and explained the article had been changed on foot of legal advice.
“We asked for a retraction for calling Kate a liar and gave them two days to do so,” Mr and Mrs Fitzgerald said. “Both editors [the editor and deputy editor] stated that saying Kate’s words were ’not factual’ was not equivalent to calling her a liar. Like many readers, we fail to see that distinction.”
Irish Times editor Kevin O'Sullivan said today: "From the outset of this very tragic story, the sole aim of The Irish Times was to focus on an important issue for people with mental illness."
The Irish Times's decision to edit the initial piece and publish a clarification and apology was necessary in the context of fairness. He said it was not aimed in any way at undermining Kate's life and the story told by her family, but acknowledged the concern of some readers in that regard.
Mr O’Sullivan said the newspaper had a long-standing policy of encouraging a more open approach within society to the reality of suicide and hoped the story of Kate’s life and premature death would highlight the need for people to discuss mental health issues and to seek support.
He said The Irish Times had explained its position on the handling of the article in a piece published on December 5th last. He added: "The Irish Times deeply regrets any hurt or distress that has been caused to the parents, family and friends of Kate."
