Tag Archives: pieta

A BIRTHDAY gift has been put to good use by a Sixmilebridge woman who has just donated €1,000 to Pieta House. Angie Togher, a native of Limerick, but living in the ‘Bridge for the last 38 years, fulfilled a lifetime ambition of writing a novel, after she retired from the health services. The book was set aside for some time and Angie thought no more about it until her family organised its publication as a birthday surprise. “They asked Dominic Taylor form the Limerick Writers’ Centre to look after the printing, but kept it all a complete secret until my birthday when they told me that publication was underway,” Angie said. “I was just delighted and got to pick the typeface and the cover before the book was printed.” ‘Old, Unhappy, Far Off Things’ tells the story of Hugh who is struggling to cope with childhood trauma and the death of his wife. He travels to Scotland, his wife’s native …

DESPITE the impact of Covid-19, Pieta provided 1,712 hours of counselling in 2019 and 2020 in the Clare area and supported 109 local people in 2020. Pieta and Electric Ireland are now urging the people of Clare to share ‘One Sunrise Together’ on May 8 for Darkness into Light. One year on from when the country went into lockdown, Pieta’s services are in demand more than ever and they need the public’s support. Clare people are being encouraged to register at www.darknessintolight.ie to take part in a special Darkness into Light that can unite us all whilst still staying physically apart. This year, participants can walk, run, swim, hike, bike or simply share One Sunrise Together for Darkness Into Light, as organised walks are not possible due to Covid-19 restrictions. Last year when it wasn’t possible to all walk together for Darkness into Light, Pieta faced a funding crisis, but the people of Clare came together as one community and got behind the event, rising at dawn and sharing sunrise moments with others from …

The total number of Clare people who received psychotherapy from a regional suicide prevention centre has increased considerably since it opened four years ago, according to the latest figures. Statistics provided by Pieta House show that the number of Clare clients who attended their regional centre in Mungret, Limerick jumped from 54 in 2011 to 82 last year but that this was a decrease from 2013, when 99 Clare clients attended. Overall, there was a 41% increase in the total number of people in the region experiencing suicidal tendencies who benefited from the centre from 2011 to 2014. Last year, 491 people sought help from the centre, compared to 348 in 2011 and Clare people accounted for almost 17% of those. While the rate of suicide among young males in Ireland is among the highest in the EU, women, it appears, are generally more likely to seek help by attending an intervention centre like Pieta House than their male counterparts. Of …