Cycle Against Suicide,RDS

Two Transition Year students from our school got the opportunity to attend the Student Leaders Congress, Cycle Against Suicide which took place in the RDS on the fourteenth of January. The two students were myself and Megan Leyden. It was arranged for us to travel to the RDS with the Local Guards one of which was Deirdre Scanlon, the Community Liaison Officer. Ten students from North Clare were chosen to accompany the guards to the RDS.

The Congress commenced with student registration and then there was time to visit various different Mental Health stalls. This was then followed by a sort of Mental Health production in the main hall. Various different people associated with Mental Health awareness came on stage and told their stories. There was lots of audience involvement and the atmosphere was positive to say the least. There were lots of special guests and a musical performance by ‘ Walking On Cars’ ; a famous pop band. It was a great day, with over 4,000 students attending and a great way to actively raise awareness on the importance of Mental Health.

The main message of the Cycle is that “It’s okay not to be okay and it’s absolutely okay to ask for help” and I feel myself and all of the other students attending took this message home with them.

Article written by Eva Guinane