New song from Donegal shares vital message for Pieta House

A new song has been recorded by a team of Donegal people to shine a light on the importance of Pieta House and its lifesaving benefits.

The song, titled ‘Yes You Can’, encourages people to pick up the phone and reach out if they need help and are suffering from suicidal ideation and/or engaging in self-harm.

The tune was recorded by Evelyn Gallagher and penned by Seamus Mc Bride and has been endorsed by Pieta House with the organisation’s telephone number and logo appearing throughout the video.

The idea was born from a conversation between Evelyn from Dromore, formerly of Evelyn and The Envoys fame and Letterkenny man Seamus Mc Bride. 

Evelyn was looking for material for her new EP, and it just so happened that Seamus had a very important message that needed to get out to the public sphere.

Evelyn said: ‘When I heard the song I just loved it. So many people are bereaved by suicide and I knew it was a very different song and I really wanted to record it.

“I did so in Percy Robinson’s studio in Ramelton and then I contacted Pieta House in Letterkenny to see if they might like to put their telephone number to the song as it has a very special message.

“They informed me that they would have to forward it to head office in Dublin and two weeks later I was delighted when they came back and said that we could put the Pieta House number and logo on the video of the song,” Evelyn said.

Songwriter Seamus Mc Bride said that he had worked in a voluntary capacity with people who had suicidal thoughts.

He said: “Every death brings much sadness but for me, death by suicide is extremely sad. When I worked with the voluntary organisation so many people phoned back to say thanks for being there when they were at their lowest ebb and many said that they may not be here but for the support they received.

“This song is not about myself or Evelyn and if only one person made that call as a result of listening to it then it would have certainly been all worthwhile.

“The message on the facebook post is very simple. – ‘Please share to help make people aware’,” Seamus said.

The music video has gained almost 4,000 views on Facebook so far, and it will be uploaded to Youtube soon.

If you need to talk to someone, contact Pieta House by phoning Freecall 24/7 Helpline on 1800 247 247. Or if you can simply text HELP to 51444. 

Visit: Pieta House North West