The family of a man who earlier this week was sentenced to ten years in prison for attempting to murder his mother has criticised State services for failing to deal with his psychosis.
"It wasn't him, it was his illness," Mary Coughlan said of her son, Gearoid, in an interview with Prime Time.
She was repeatedly stabbed by him on 4 June 2021 at her home in Ballycoughlan near Inishannon, Co Cork, leaving her with life-changing injuries.
The court was told that the 32-year-old did not want to avail of a special verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity because he did not want to be detained indefinitely in the Central Mental Hospital, preferring instead to serve a sentence in prison.
Mrs Coughlan spoke to Miriam O'Callaghan alongside her other son, Fergal, and daughter Joanne.
Gearoid’s mental health issue first emerged during his teens, but further declined over the three months before the attack on his mother, according to Fergal.
"Four days prior to the attack, he was obviously experiencing more psychosis because he stole some alcohol from a local Aldi, and so he was arrested. And it was totally out of character to steal something, but it just showed the mental state that he was in," Fergal Coughlan said.
"He was released after a couple of hours, even though he was clearly unwell... there should have been a psychological assessment, or something done, to bring him to a secure hospital where he needed the treatment rather than let him back out into society again," Fergal said.
"I just feel the coordination between guards, doctors, the HSE - it just doesn't happen," Mrs Coughlan added.
"The thing is, with schizophrenia, it doesn't matter about the diagnosis, the person is still there," Joanne Coughlan said.
"You love them to the ends of the earth, and the problem is that the psychiatric services will only take somebody into care if they're deemed a threat to themselves or to others."
Mrs Coughlan said when she was sitting in court earlier this week she tried to catch her son’s eye, but he did not reciprocate.
"He's not well enough yet. He's not well enough," she said.
"But I would love to give him a hug, and I pray for him, and my friends do. The minute I came out of the coma, Joanne told me what happened, and I forgave him straight away because I know it's the illness that caused all this."
On Monday, Mr Justice Paul McDermott imposed a sentence of 12 years with the final two years suspended under strict conditions for six years, saying this would allow for Gearoid's safe return to society.
The judge said it was likely he would remain in the Central Mental Hospital for some time until deemed well enough to be transferred to prison where his treatment will continue.
"In the court the last day, I'm making my statement, and he had a few notes made out of his own accord," Mary said of Gearoid.
"He wasn't told to do it by anyone and he just said, 'sorry, mum' and that was fabulous."
"I'm grieving for my Gearoid that was there when he was a teenager, I grieve for him," Mrs Coughlan said.
"I just hope in time to come that we can meet and just sit and chat and have a cup of tea together."
