This article is from page 6 of the 2011-04-19 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
AHEAD of a walk aimed at promoting greater awareness of suicide, an Ennis-based businessman has spoken openly of his brother’s death from suicide.
‘Darkness into Light’, a walk organised by Pieta House, will take place in Ennis on May 7. The 5km walk will start at 4.30am and follow a route through a forest trail in Lees Road sports and amenity park.
Pieta House provides therapy and counselling services at five centres around Ireland, including Mungret, Limerick.
Speaking at the walk’s launch in Ennis last Tuesday Joan Freeman CEO of Pieta House, explained, “It starts at half four in Lees Road and just as you are coming over the finish line the dawn is breaking. It’s a really symbolic walk which symbolises what we do at Pieta House which is bringing people from darkness into light.”
Tom McEvoy, a coordinator for Pieta House in Clare, became involved with the organisation after the death of his brother Adrian (28) in 2007. Mr McEvoy, his wife and three children moved to Ennis in 2002.
Tom explained that the family were in the process of building a house in Roslevan when Adrian moved home from Australia.
He said, “He’s a very talented joiner, carpenter. Ultimately I asked him would he mind joining me for the build process. He was delighted to take part in that.”
In July 2007, Tom and his family left Ennis for a diving holiday of Inishbofin, County Mayo. “We left a list for Adrian to work away with it on our new house, which we hadn’t moved into at the time. He ended up wanting to stay there and do the work and we were delighted with that. I texted him a few times during the week and didn’t get a reply which wasn’t really unusual,” he said.
When the family returned home, Tom was still unable to make contact with his brother.
“I went to see a match on the telly with my brother-in-law. The Dubs were playing at the time. I got a call from my wife that she had had a visit from An Garda Síochana to say that they were after finding a person and she wanted me to come home.
“I went and identified him and said how sorry I was that this had happened to him and that ultimately we wanted the best of him.”
Tom said that what happened to his brother is typical of many suicides. “We have numerous experiences like that in our community of young people showing an outward sign that they are okay and everything’s fine but ultimately they are in bits and they are in a very dark place,” he added.
Tom said that until the country learns to face the trauma of suicide, “we’re going to end up in the same boat this time next year and so on and so forth”.