Councillors of Letterkenny and Milford held a minute’s silence today following the sad news of two suicide deaths in the community.
The sudden loss of two local men yesterday has left the wider Letterkenny area in a state of shock and mourning.
Mayor Kevin Bradley opened today’s meeting of the municipal district with a poignant moment of silence to honour the men and express deep sympathies to their bereaved families.
Cllr Bradley said it was appropriate to acknowledge the personal tragedies today, which is World Mental Health Day.
“It would bring a tear to your eye,” Cllr Bradley said of the number of local men who have died by suicide this year.
Other councillors of the Letterkenny-Milford MD joined the expression of sympathy and urged any person in need to seek help.
Cllr Donal ‘Mandy’ Kelly, said: “Mental health is getting to be a major problem and there is a lot of help out there, we as a council should promote it as best we can. For men especially, we are not great at talking.”
Cllr Donal Coyle added: “I think a listening ear can be very crucial at times, to give a few minutes to somebody, you don’t know how good that can be to a person at a particular time
“Suicide is really difficult on the family members left behind, we really don’t have the answer but the one thing we can do is give the time to listen.”
Cllr Jimmy Kavanagh welcomed the mental health awareness events held at the ATU and Vestry in Letterkenny today, adding that “we need to be open about mental health issues.”
Cllr Gerry McMonagle said: “Whilst there is a lot of help and support out there, there needs to be more, there are far too many people reverting to suicide.”
Cllr McMonagle called on men and women to speak about their mental health, whether that’s to a friend, a family member, or local organisations such as the wellness cafes, Jigsaw, the Donegal Youth Service and the Letterkenny CDP.
Liam Ward, Director of Service, also passed on sympathies on behalf of colleagues in Letterkenny and Milford, and urged people to make use of the services available.
Support is available, see below for numbers to call: