Tag Archives: pieta

FOR many teenagers their mid-term break away from school is a time to kick back, take it easy and relax. Not so for 16-year-old Claire Cuddihy from Lissycasey who this February is set to take on an incredible challenge with the aim of raising mental health awareness as well as funds for a well-known charity. Claire is preparing to complete not one, but an amazing, seven marathons over the course of just one week in aid of Pieta. The student of St John Bosco Community College, Kildysart, will be taking on a gruelling 42km run each day, getting back out on the track every day for seven straight days in a row. Speaking to The Clare Champion ahead of her marathon challenge, she laughs as she considers the daunting challenge she has set herself. More seriously, however, she adds her strong belief that the issue of mental health needs to be highlighted, while she also wants to raise awareness and …

A cheque for almost €6,000 has been presented to Pieta House, the proceeds of the Keep’er Lit tractor run, which took place in Kilmurry on December 17 last year. It was organised by 16-year-old Shay O’Sullivan from Kilmurry. “We’re very proud of him and he’s a very driven fella,” said Shay’s sister Shauna this week. “When he came up with the idea we just said we’d get behind him if he was willing to do it. He put in an awful lot of work. There were sponsors’ prizes and everything on the night. “The weather hampered it a little bit, it was frosty weather so he didn’t get the turnout that he deserved. But he did great work, he raised close to €6,000 for Pieta House,” she added. The tractor run began at Sixmilebridge mart, then went through Newmarket and Quin, going back through Kilmurry and back into Sixmilebridge. There were around 75 participants on the night, and Shauna said …

Three community-based charities in County Clare received a combined fundraising donation of €3,550 from the Cliffs of Moher Experience this week. The North Clare visitor attraction marked the end of the tourism year with a Christmas Breakfast for all staff at the Cliff View Café this Wednesday. The management team was on hand to help serve tea and coffees to the hard-working team and to representatives from Pieta House, Ennistymon Community Hospital and Clare Crusaders, who shared the proceeds from the fund.

ON Saturday Conor O’Keeffe will run the marathon distance in Co Clare, as part of an extreme challenge called Project 32. It began in Dublin last month, and over the course of 32 days the Cork man is running 32 marathons, one in each county. He ran the first one with a 32lb weighted vest, that is being decreased by 1lb for each marathon run. The extra weight symbolises the difficulties that come with carrying mental health problems, and one of the goals of the run is to raise €100,000 for Pieta House.  Well known from appearing on RTE’s Ultimate Hell Week earlier in the year, he was also on the documentary series ‘I’m Fine’, which aired in 2021. On top of this Conor has been regularly involved in podcasts in Ireland and started his own called ‘Flip the script’ where he explores a variety of themes relating to sport, mental health and motivation. When he spoke to the Clare …

AFTER a two-year hiatus due to Covid restrictions, Darkness Into Light walks will be return at sunrise on Saturday May 7 to locations across Clare. From Sixmilebridge to Kilmihil, Shannon to Ennis, Darkness Into Light, the annual fundraising event organised by Pieta, who provide life-saving support services for those in suicidal distress and who have been bereaved through suicide, is back in the Banner. The event will take place across six venues in Clare, with two swims and four walks planned, beginning in darkness at sunrise and continuing through to dawn to symbolise thee journey from despair to hope. Walks will be held in Sixmilebridge, Kilmihil, Shannon and in Ennis leaving from CBS on the New Road. Also June Curtin will have a special Snamhaí Sasta in Spanish Point and Rosie McMahon will be hosting a swim at Ballyalla Lake in Ennis. Up to 200,000 people gathered around the globe in previous years to walk in solidarity with those experiencing …

THE people of Clare will once again walk together in solidarity from ‘Darkness Into Light’ this year as the popular event in aid of Pieta returns to in-person walks on May 7. This year’s walk will launch on Thursday evening, April 7, in the Temple Gate Hotel with Davy Fitzgerald and Aoibhin Garrihy there to show their support. Representatives from all Darkness into Light walks within County Clare will also be at the launch. Plans are underway for events in Ennis, Shannon, Sixmilebridge and Kilmihil in the early hours of May 7, while a swim will also be held in Spanish Point with June Curtin. Darkness Into Light had its first walk in Ennis in 2011 with 550 people participating, growing to over 3,500 in 2019. The 2020 walk was cancelled due to Covid-19, and last year a virtual event was held. This year’s Darkness Into Light will be a hybrid event, with the return of in-person walks alongside the …

WITH the pandemic having caused all sorts of upheaval, suicide prevention charity Pieta has recorded a 22% increase in demand for its services, and Clare based Tom McEvoy, who is its fundraising and advocacy manager for much of the country, says the distress is being seen in this county too. “It’s affecting everywhere, demand for all our services have increased significantly, so the growth has been seen all over, including in Clare and the surrounding counties,” he said. While the overall growth in demand for one of the country’s top suicide prevention charities is disturbing, the fact that far more younger people want its help is another concern. “In July of last year 15% of our clients were 18 and under. In July just gone that figure was up to 32%. It has increased hugely. “It is a concern obviously that more people underage are reaching out, we can cope with it, but if the trend continues that way it …

ENNIS native Ashling Kelly has almost completed a 32-peak challenge, in which she climbs the highest peak of each county on the island of Ireland, to raise funds for Pieta House. Ashling spent much of her time in preparation for this impressive feat keeping fit and plotting the routes she was going to take, as some of the peaks she conquered were in clusters that she could complete over the course of a few days. The challenge also required Ashling to camp out near the peaks, something that added a new and exciting element to the feat altogether. Now with only three peaks left to climb, Ashling has raised over €2700 online at the donation website JustGiving and she can be supported here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ashling-kelly1 This challenge was something Ashling had always wished to complete, and she was inspired to do so during lockdown and give the proceeds to Pieta House due to the mental pressures of quarantine.   By Conor …