*Brian Lohan. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
CLARE MANAGER, Brian Lohan and ex Galway hurler Fr Iggy Clarke are among the line-up to take the stage at Shannon’s second annual free mental health conference.
Named after the Celtic Goddess for health and wisdom, The Airmid Mental Health and Wellbeing conference will take place in The Hope Cafe Shannon on March 21st.
Organisers of the conference; Pat Barry and Mary Honan told The Clare Echo that the main the idea for the event came about as they noticed an increase in suicides in Shannon. “I have attended way too many funerals again last year and seeing the destruction of lives because of suicide,” explained Pat. “And there’s been no improvement, in my opinion, on services, a whole void of services that’s required to help people in their crisis.”
In November 2024, the Central Statistics Office published their latest vital services report. The data from this report revealed that that Co Clare recorded the highest suicide deaths by population size in Ireland in 2023. It also showed that Clare the third highest number of suicides in the country overall.
According to CSO data 25 people died from suicide in Clare in 2023, 20 male and 5 female. This is the highest figure the county has seen since 2008. The number of deaths registered as suicide in Clare reached its highest level on record last year.
Due to the rise in the number of suicides within the county, particularly in the town of Shannon, Pat and Mary hope that the conference can act as a welcoming starting point for people and help to break judgematl stigma surrounding mental health.
“People are reluctant to come forward and say, my mental health isn’t good,” explained Mary. “It’s not as bad as it was, and a lot of that is down to the fact that it’s been publicised more, and people are now brave enough to come forward and talk about it. But we just felt that it would be nice to run an event and run it here in Shannon, because Shannon was so badly decimated, with young suicides in particular. Every suicide is shocking, but particularly when it’s a young person in the full prime of their lives”.
This year’s event will be the second of its kind. The inaugural conference took place in the same venue in January 2023. After the success of last yeast event Mary and Pat would like to continue running the conference on a yearly basis. Pat and Mary also have a goal of setting up a 24/7 mental health centre in Shannon, where people can go and find help in their moments of need at any time of day.
“There is a very young community in Shannon. There’s two very big secondary schools. If people don’t have a place to go or someone to talk to when they’re at their very lowest, they’re more likely to do something,” said Pat.
Mary added; “I felt that having a place like the Airmid walk-in centre, that people can come to and you can give them that sense of strength and resilience and hope. Because as many survivors have said “you can live without food, you can live without love, you cannot live without hope as long as you have hope tomorrow will be better”.
The conference will run from 9:30am to 5pm, with a full schedule of speakers touching on a wide variety of topics such as mindfulness, Feotal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and dealing with grief.
Brian Lohan will speak at the event ahead of the key-note speech which will be given by former Galway All-Star hurler Iggy Clarke.
As well as the speakers there will also be workshops in different forms of yoga and a musical performance from Limerick musician, Robert Dawson. There will be designated meeting rooms at the event where mental health professionals will be offering their services free of charge on the day.
Mary emphasised that this event is not just for people who may be suffering from severe mental health struggles themselves or professionals within the field, it is for everyone. She explained that whether you’re coming to seek help for yourself or to just learn more about yoga and meditation as a form of stress relief everyone is welcome at the conference.
“And we would encourage everyone to come because you never know what you’ll hear there that will actually help you”.
The event is free of charge. Attendees can stay for as many or as few of the scheduled speakers as they would like. As part of the programme, there will be a lunch provided on the day and there will also be tea and coffee available all day.
