RTÉ pulled a planned Late Late Show appearance by Andrew McGinley following objections from members of his wife’s family.
Mr McGinley was due to speak on the show about his children, Conor (9), Darragh (7) and Carla (3), who were killed by their mother Deirdre Morley last year, and the charities he had set up in their memory.
His wife’s family members objected to the appearance planned for October 8th and the State broadcaster decided to cancel the interview, according to The Irish Times.
RTÉ later told Mr McGinley via a letter that the timing of the interview would have “too painful an experience” for some members of the wider Morley family and that it was “appropriate” to listen and reflect on their views.
Ms Morley was found not guilty by reason of insanity of murdering her three children after their bodies were discovered at the family home in Newcastle, Co Dublin in January 2020. She had attempted to take her own life after the killings.
The paediatric nurse was found to be suffering from a mental disorder at the time of the killings. She has been committed to the Central Mental Hospital.
Late Late Show
In his Late Late Show appearance, Mr McGinley was planning to talk about a charity raffle for a Daniel O’Donnell concert for his As Darragh Did charity, a Snowman for Carla colouring competition in memory of his daughter, and the Conor’s Clips project he has established in honour of his son.
He said he was upset that his appearance was cancelled because it would have been an opportunity for a small charity to promote upcoming events, and he never intended to talk on the programme about anything that would have caused distress or pain.
“It was never my intention to cause any upset or any hurt or anything else. I just want to keep Conor, Daragh and Carla’s memories alive. I want the world to know they existed and I cannot understand how anybody would find that to be upsetting,” he told The Irish Times.
He said that he had received messages of support from Ms Morley’s wider family for his charitable work and that he was upset that this seemed to have caused a split within her family.
An RTÉ spokeswoman said that it understood “the immense grief of Mr McGinley and the sensitivities around this tragedy” and that it was obliged to adhere to Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) codes “when dealing with such sensitive issues”.
It is understood that the broadcaster decided not to proceed with the interview on the basis that representation from some members of Ms Morley’s family fell under its obligation to adhere to the “protection from harm” principle of the BAI code of programme standards.
Principle three of the code recognises that there are “some viewers and listeners who, by virtue of their age, particular circumstances or vulnerability, may be in need of special consideration”.
