Living in Dónal’s light

THE memory of Kerry teenager Dónal Walsh was deeply etched into the national consciousness when, while gravely ill from terminal cancer and clinging desperately to life, he made a moving plea for an end to the suicide epidemic among young people.

Now his mother Elma has written the foreword to a mental health booklet of personal stories from students and staff at University College Cork on this universal topic.

This marvellous initiative could not be more timely as a lead-in to World Suicide Prevention Day, which will be marked around the globe next Thursday. With a mother’s understanding of how depression can destroy a person’s life and self-esteem she has urged those suffering from this dark condition to seek help before it is too late. Using the metaphor of climbing a mountain, she writes that her son, who passed away in May 2013, “knew that a mountain is a challenge and not easy and maybe sometimes on the way up or down we all need to ask for help”. For anyone dogged by depression, there could hardly be better advice.