Tag Archives: Ennis Samaritans

TWO Ennis soccer clubs were on the ball when it came to fundraising for the local branch of the Samaritans recently. A charity match organised by the Soccer Sisters Ennis and Fairgreen Celtic has raised more than €6,000 for the vital work of the organisation. Soccer fans cheered on both teams as they played in Ennis’ Fairgreen during the mixed women’s and men’s match on St Stephen’s Day. The match resulted in an 8 – 8 draw, with plenty of skills on display from all the players. The funds raised were recently handed over to the volunteers of the Samaritans at their Kilrush Road, Ennis branch. A spokesperson for Soccer Sisters Ennis said, “We played a 90 minute mixed men’s and women’s match where between players’ registration money, donations, and selling raffle tickets resulted in a whopping €6,096.94 raised.” The spokesperson said all involved in the match want to say “a massive thank you to all that came out on …

PROMINENT buildings in Ennis will be illuminated on the longest day of the year to highlight the Samaritans’ Christmas campaign. Clare County Council headquarters, the Active Ennis Leisure Complex and Clare Youth Centre will all be lit up in green on December 21 in solidarity with the Samaritans and to show people the service is available to them in their darkest hours. Director of the Ennis and Clare branch of the Samaritans Margaret McMahon said, “We’re getting buildings to light up in green and if more could it’d be welcome. “It’s just to raise awareness that the Samaritans are there and we picked the longest night. It’s to emphasise that at this time of year when the clocks go back and Christmas is coming it can be a really tough time. “I think I got my first call about Christmas back in August. People really think about it and worry.” She said that in recent weeks people have been concerned …

AT the end of last year, St Joseph’s Secondary School, Tulla, raised €625 for the Ennis branch of the Samaritans. Enterprising students held a ‘Colours Day’ as part of a Wellness Week initiative. Student Council presidents Aoife Kelly and Adam O Neill lead the initiative.

Ennis Samaritans answered 40,995 calls for help in the last 12 months, with most of these calls received out of hours when other support is not available. These call details were released in the 2015-2016 Impact Report covering Samaritans’ work in Ireland, which was launched this week. According to the report, over 639,652 calls for help were answered by Samaritans volunteers across Ireland in the last year. More than one in three calls to Samaritans’ national helpline were received between 6pm and 12am and 63% of all calls to the service are made between 6pm and 6am. Claire Cremmin, Director of Ennis branch, said: “We know that people don’t just struggle to cope between the hours of 9 to 5. The statistics released in our Impact Report 2015-2016 show many calls come through to the service throughout the evening and early morning hours, a time that can be lonely and isolating for those experiencing feelings of distress. Samaritans are the …