GAA stars line out for suicide awareness event

Top GAA players will be among the attendees at a two-day information event on suicide in Kerry.

Almost 50 organisations across the county will come together at the Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre to take part in a Mental Wellness Exhibition.

The HSE South and a number of national organisations including Console, Living Links, and Wellness Recovery Action Plan are taking part in the event. It has been organised by the Killarney group Be Aware! Prevent Suicide, with the assistance of voluntary bodies.

The event will be held on Sunday and Monday next.

GAA stars Colm Cooper, Kieran Donaghy, and Darren O’Sullivan will attend the Monday session, which will focus on secondary schools. Admission is free.

The GP, psychotherapist, and author Terry Lynch will deliver the keynote address, entitled “Mental health recovery through recovery of self”, at 4.30pm on Sunday. He is the author of Beyond Prozac, a bestseller. His latest book is Selfhood.

The exhibition is the brainchild of Be Aware! chairwoman Deirdre Fee, a Killarney businesswoman and former nurse who identified a need to co-ordinate suicide prevention services and make it easier to access lifesaving information.

“This is an awareness and information event to give exposure to the huge number of support services working throughout Kerry to help people in crisis,” she said.

“Our aim is to make people aware of the range of support out there and, in doing this, to go some distance towards helping to prevent suicide.

“Many of us are lucky enough not to experience serious problems, but as individuals it is our personal and civic responsibility to know that these supports exist and to know how to access them for others.

“Anyone of us may find ourselves in a position where someone close to us is under stress. Wouldn’t it be invaluable to know which services could help and to be able to put someone in touch with them?”

She said the information available over the two days is especially relevant to service providers which come in contact with people under stress or in crisis situations, such as welfare officers, politicians, and healthcare workers.

Admission is free but donations of old mobile phones would be welcome on the day as a fundraiser. A sign-lang-uage interpreter will be available for the talks on Sunday afternoon.