How to come up smiling

TWO teenage next-door neighbours, from Dublin 15, have spearheaded a project to change conversations about mental health.

Inspired by Swedish research that shows children smile 400 times a day, but adults do so only 20 times, Mark McMahon, 16, and Eric Hughes, 15, want people to smile, so they’ve created www.15smiles.ie

Via uplifting pictures and inspiring quotes, the boys are spreading positivity. Their campaign began after They noticed that much information coming their way about mental health was negative. Speakers would come to their schools (Mark’s in Blakestown Community School; Eric’s at Hartstown Community School) and impart “a lot of information about depression and suicide”.