Jan 11, 2012
In memoriam: Mary Raftery and John McCarthy
Ireland lost two great citizens yesterday: Mary Raftery and John McCarthy. Both fought bravely to expose injustice in Irish society, through journalism and through activism. Their work has given voice to many who have long been ignored by society – people who were institutionalised, and whose freedom and dignity were denied by the treatment they received.
Many moving tributes have already been made to Mary Raftery, most notably Miriam O’Callaghan’s piece which was published on RTE’s website. Mary will be remembered by many for her ground-breaking documentary, States of Fear, shown on Prime Time in 1999, which exposed in detail, for the first time, the experiences of children in industrial schools and people with disabilities in residential institutions. A direct line can be traced from the broadcast of States of Fear to the establishment of inquiries into the abuse she highlighted – and the publication of the Ryan and Murphy Reports. While much progress has been made on this issue in recent years, we should remember that many people still live restricted lives in an institutional setting in Ireland – including those in the direct provision system for asylum seekers and the 8,000 people with disabilities still living in congregated settings. Mary’s work serves as a reminder that we should continue to question the segregation of members of our community, wherever it occurs.
John McCarthy, the founder and driving force behind Mad Pride Ireland, will be remembered for his passionate advocacy as part of, as he put it, the mad community in Ireland. John’s work in highlighting the normality of madness and campaigning to end the use of force in mental health treatment will remain his lasting legacy. As we look forward to a year in which legislation on legal capacity is expected to be published – a Bill many hope will include explicit recognition of the supports we all use in our lives in order to make decisions – we would do well to remember John’s contribution and the changes he fought so hard to achieve. When I came to write this, I realised that there is nothing I could say about John that he did not say far more eloquently himself. In one of his final pieces for ‘The Human Condition’ column in the Cork Independent, John wrote:
We are causing a debate to be had; we are opening doors where secrecy thrived. ‘In the person’s best interest’ will be a catch phrase synonymous with abuse in time … We have Kathleen Lynch, a tough, kind, Northside practical lady. I like her so much but I am causing her much trouble. She must like me, appreciate my motives. Strong woman, she appointed me to a national body where she knows I will stir the pot some more.
The time might be right for all of us to think about how we can ‘stir the pot some more’ – how we can continue to debate the issues which Mary and John brought to the fore. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anamnacha.
