Hope floats as lanterns to shed light on new service

Late loved ones to be remembered with event that will benefit the soon to open Haven Hub Clare

THE River Fergus will be lit with hundreds of lights next week as a symbol of hope for those who have lost loved ones.
On Friday, October 8, at dusk, Ennis will ‘Light the Night’ with lanterns floating down the river through the town. Each light will represent the memory of someone who has passed away.
Organiser Tina Whelan hopes this action will bring some comfort to those who are grieving a loss, while also helping to support a new after hours peer support and suicide prevention centre opening shortly in Ennis.
Funds raised from the event will go towards the Haven Hub Clare which will open its doors this October in the Clonroad Business Park.
The centre will be a sister hub of The Haven Hub Limerick, which was founded by Leona O’ Callaghan.
Tina explained that the new Clare service will involve crisis prevention, giving those in need of help one-to-one support between the hours of 8pm and 2am on Friday and Saturday night.
Tina told The Champion they were overwhelmed the response from last year’s lighting of the river which prompted them to decide to hold it again.
“It was just beautiful last year, absolutely fantastic and we got so much feedback about it even for months afterwards, it was a fantastic response.”
While last year’s event involved between 300 and 400 lights, this year there will be 500 lanterns floated along the river.
Tina assured that there will be no danger posed by the lanterns which will be gathered up afterwards with the help of Clare Civil Defence and the Ennis Sub Aqua team.
“We will be floating the lanterns at dusk, around 7.30pm on October 8 in memory of all our loved ones who have passed. The lanterns are available at Coote’s Shop on the Kilrush Road and Sweet Dreams in the market.
“You bring them home and personalise them with maybe a message or a photograph and then drop them back to the shops where we will collect them and bring them to the river on the night to be floated.”
She added that it isn’t just people who have passed away that are being remembered. “We had a lot of people who used the lanterns to remember their pets last year and we expect that again this year,” she said.
She is currently busy dropping out lanterns to people throughout the county, visiting Clarecastle, Newmarket-on-Fergus and Lissycasey among other areas.
She has been delighted with the response to the event and everybody involved in organising is looking forward to seeing the decorations on the lanterns and watching them float down the river.
They will be launched at Springfield and will pass under the Post Office Bridge, the Rowan Tree Bridge and the Club Bridge and finish at Steele’s Terrace.
“It’s a very visual event, it just looks fabulous. Really this is all about hope. It reminds us of the people who have left us, but also that there is hope going forward. And that if people are in crisis and they need to engage with the services that they absolutely should do.”
Tina believes that the Haven Hub for Clare is “badly needed” having seen the work that is being done in Limerick while trying to support a friend.
“I had to engage with Haven Hub in Limerick last year to get help for a family friend because there was no service available to us in Ennis. It was through that engagement that I thought Clare could do with one of these centres.
“It’s absolutely badly needed in Ennis, we have found a lot of people having to go from Ennis to Limerick. If people want to just come in to us and have a chat they can, and even if you are a family member worried about someone you can come in and get some advice.”
The Haven Hub Clare is also seeking volunteers to get involved. For more information contact ‘The Haven Hub Clare’ on Facebook.