Charity fashion show for suicide prevention

When student Jennifer Purcell sees the coastguard helicopter hovering over her native city, she pauses and prays another life has not been lost to the River Shannon.

The rescue chopper is a regular visitor to Limerick City’s skyline, and, Ms Purcell — who has lost friends to suicide — has called for support in helping her raise more awareness about people who are “jumping” to their deaths, a practice that continues to blight Limerick’s modern and picturesque quaysides.

Tonight she will host a fashion show fundraiser in aid of Limerick Marine Search & Rescue Service (LMSRS) and the Corbett Suicide Prevention Patrol. The latter of the two voluntary groups was set up in recent years to patrol suicide hotspots along the river after a spike in deaths, while LMSRS works on a voluntary basis recovering the bodies of suicide victims as well as performing rescues.