A Co Tyrone hurling club has teamed up with a suicide prevention charity after losing three of its members within one year.
Eoghan Ruadh reached out to the Niamh Louise Foundation, which operates in the Dungannon area, in an effort to work with the charity, which has lost all its funding in recent years and is now relying on its reserves.
The charity says without support from the community its days could be numbered.
One family recently bereaved by suicide was that of club member Nicole Gillick, who died in August 2023 aged 24.
Nicole’s mum Alison told The Irish News her daughter had fought against mental health issues and addiction since the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Nicole was a great girl and was just the life and soul of everything, she played camogie all her life,” Alison said.
“Covid hit and her mental health went down hill big time. We tried everything with her and tried to get her help.
“It’s tough for everyone in the family dealing with the loss, and we miss her every day.
“We’re lucky to have a great family circle and the community around us. The last year has been incredibly tough but we just have to keep going.”
Eoghan Ruadh chairman Terry McIntosh said looking after the mental wellbeing of players and wider club membership was of utmost importance.
“This is a serious, serious problem at the minute here,” he says
“Each death has a massive impact on everybody here within the club and community. Dungannon is a small place.
“These are people that we know and are involved with the club every day and you know them personally. And you see the impact that that has on their family.
“We want to do whatever we can to help the likes of Niamh Louise, who are doing everything they can with no funding whatsoever.
“The GAA is the lifeblood of local communities here and it’s important that we do all we can to support our members and the families that are impacted by suicide.”
With previous funding from the Big Lottery Fund and the Department of Health no longer available to Niamh Louise, founder Catherine McBennett said it only had a year of reserve funds in the bank and face closure if such uncertainty remains.
She set up the charity 18 years ago after her teenager daughter Niamh McKee died by suicide a year earlier. On Sunday, the charity was joined by a host of local groups and bereaved families to show support for its work on World Suicide Prevention Awareness Day.
“It’s scary times that we’ve found ourselves in this position and we don’t want to think about the prospect of closing the doors.
“We can name at least three families that have suffered this heartache in recent times alone, and that’s just one club within one town.
“The ripple effect that that has on everyone concerned is hard to fathom.
“We are firefighting on this and have been doing so for years, we aren’t seeing any change from Stormont or anywhere else on this. They talk about strategies for mental health and all the rest of it, we see this on the ground and things aren’t getting any better.”
Help is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for those struggling with their mental health.
Advice is available at www.mindingyourhead.info, while Lifeline operates a free 24-hour crisis response helpline (0808 808 8000) and Samaritans provide emotional support for anyone in emotional distress or at risk of suicide throughout the UK and Ireland on 116 123 or online at www.samaritans.org.
:Further information can be found at https://www.niamhlouisefoundation.com/