‘Love/Hate’ star backs mental health campaign for men
The Dublin actor said the shocking death of his childhood friend Ciaran Walsh, 28, prompted him to front a new campaign called ‘Mind Our Men’ to help prevent suicide.
Coonan, also 28, who plays volatile gangster Fran in the RTÉ drama, said his friend was one of the last people he would have expected to take his own life. “Back in 2008 Ciaran died by suicide. I will never forget it. The main emotion was I felt numb, I didn’t cry immediately. It was just the shock that this had happened.
“The thing that really took me by surprise was the fact that this was a guy I looked up to from a very young age. He was a great footballer, the girls loved him, he had a good job, he was the life and soul of the party.
“It is not always going to be the person suffering from depression. It could be the person you least think, the person who is happy-go-lucky, who is very confident in himself. It was a complete shock to friends and family alike.”
The founder of Pieta House, Joan Freeman, said the charity’s ‘Mind Our Men’ campaign is a bid to get the nation to reach out to the men in the lives.
“Suicide can happen to anybody. People expect it comes from long-term depression and mental health issues. But most of the people who come to us are reacting to a life event. It could be bereavement, a long-term relationship. Nine out of 10 people who come to us are reacting to a life event.”
Ms Freeman said the charity saw 3,000 people last year, ranging from children as young as 6 to people aged in their 80s.
“We’ve got to understand the chances are [that] men won’t look for help. If a man or anybody breaks their leg nobody expects them to go and get an ambulance and get help for themselves.
“So if a life is broken why do we expect them to get their own help? We want to go from the North to the south of Ireland to tell everybody the signs and symptoms and what to do.”
Coonan said he is urging men to watch out for the mental well-being of their friends to try and bring down the numbers of men who commit suicide.
“If you think a friend is feeling down and depressed, don’t just say, ‘how are you feeling?’ They are naturally going to go, ‘I’m grand.’
“If you go in and say, ‘Listen, man, I’ve noticed you’ve put on weight, you don’t hang around with us anymore, you are not playing football.’
“These observations will hopefully get them out of the rut they are in and break the cycle they have found themselves in.”
*www.mindourmen.ie
People at risk of suicide are being invited to attend Alcoholics Anonymous-style group meetings for the first time from next week.
Suicide Anonymous Ireland will follow a similar 12-step approach used in AA meetings and allow people access to an immediate support network consisting of others who may have attempted suicide or who are tormented by suicidal thoughts.
These meetings are already established in the US and UK and have been credited with helping to reduce suicide figures.
David McCarthy, the founder of Suicide Anonymous Ireland, said he hopes the approach will save lives and become an effective preventative measure to suicide across the country.
Mr McCarthy said: “I have looked at AA and others for years and have seen how the approach of empathy and support, with no other interventions outside of listening and talking, have given individuals the support and strength to deal with their addictions and to live their lives. So I said to myself, why not try this for those who live every day with the threat and thoughts of suicide.”
The first Suicide Anonymous meeting takes place at the SMA Public Community Centre in Wilton in Cork on Apr 5 at 8pm.
Nick Bramhill
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