Friends of a young Belfast man have smashed a fundraising target with a charity soccer tournament in his memory that also raises awareness of suicide.
Staged in memory of Ciaran Crawford and held on his birthday on Sunday, the event saw friends and others in the community gather for the event to raise money for suicide charity PIPS Belfast.
Ciaran, who was a former judo champion, died in September 2021, and Sunday’s tournament at the Colin Glen football grounds saw more than £18,000 raised through the event’s JustGiving webpage.
The third staging of the tournament since the popular young man’s death, it has been described by his friend Ruairi McDonnell as a chance not just to celebrate their close pal’s life, but as an outlet for other young people in the community to acknowledge and discuss the issue of mental health.
Sixteen teams took part in the tournament, with 160 players taking to the dome-covered pitches to compete.