AS another year ends a phenomenon which has been with us for many years has come to the fore again.
Suicide has brought pain and anguish to many in our society who have had to come to terms with a loved one ending their own life.
On Wednesday the parents of Colleen Lagan told how they could not believe that their daughter had died in this way because she had lost two cousins, Eamon Sloan and Tiarnan Bassett, to suicide in the same year.
And almost beyond belief, a young woman who attended Colleen's funeral on Tuesday died just hours afterwards.
This is not the first time a series of tragedies has occurred in this way. But as we go into a new year it must be everybody's hope that it is the last.
To make that aspiration a reality there has to be a greater understanding of what causes people to take their own lives.
We all make mistakes in life. Indeed many must have despaired at how they were ever going to sort out some of the messes they found themselves in, be they financial or personal. But no problem is insoluble.
The message from the parents of Colleen Lagan was simple. Do not carry out an action from which there is no return. It is the biggest mistake anyone can make.
It does not make life easier for those left to mourn, rather it leaves them struggling with their own despair.
Colleen's mother Kate urged anyone contemplating suicide to talk to someone. That plea has been heard many times but it is a message which must get through to those who it is aimed at.
Any one of us would rather talk through the problems of a loved one than find out about them after it is too late to address them. And if someone feeling such serious pressure feels they cannot confide in someone so close to them there are other alternatives.
Organisations such as the Samaritans (08457 909090) or Lifeline (080 8808 8000) provide a listening ear and advice about other agencies which may be able to help those in distress get some practical help.
Suicide awareness campaigner Philip McTaggart, who lost a son in this way, described the situation in north Belfast as frightening, with four such deaths in a few months.
Mr McTaggart also said that cemeteries were the richest places on the island 'because of the wealth of talent' being lost to suicide.
We should all make it a priority to make 2016 a poorer year for the cemeteries.
