Childline volunteers have said some of 1,200 contacts received by the service on Christmas Day involved children expressing suicidal thoughts and speaking about the issues present in some recent high-profile teenage suicides.

One-in-six calls to the Samaritans are recession-related, it has emerged.

The number of people calling Samaritans Ireland for emotional support has jumped by 3% in the past year.

The regional director of the Samaritans in Ireland has been named the Cork Person of the Month for October.

They’re normally on the end of the phone providing a reassuring ear, but now the Samaritans in Cork are embarking on an outreach pilot project which the charity hopes to roll out nationwide.