St Fanahan’s College, Mitchelstown was a hive of activity last Thursday as students and staff welcomed and acknowledged the work of over 800 cyclists partaking in the Cycle Against Suicide as they visited the school.

The school, as planned became an ocean of orange for day with the route lined by students and members of the public so as to give the cyclists every welcome and encouragement on the Cork to Clonmel leg of their 1,400km route which finishes in Dublin on Sunday.

Preparations had been in place at the school for weeks and this was evident by the fact that everything ran so smoothly on the day with students and staff all knowing their roles and carrying them out to perfection. They were also blessed with the fine weather. This coupled with the relaxed and friendly atmosphere afforded one the opportunity to walk around the college grounds and talk to riders about their motivation for being involved in the Cycle Against Suicide.

Amongst those I met was Louise Beecher from Ballynoe who had started out on the cycle from Belfast and was going all the way to Dublin. She was surprised at St Fanahan’s College to be greeted by her dog Nellie who had been brought along to meet her by family members. She said it was a fantastic stop-off and praised the effort that St Fanahan’s College had put in.

I also caught up with Leanne Leonard from Roscommon, Glen Deacon from Wexford and Bernadette Daly from Kerry who said the food was fantastic and they were blown away by the welcome and entertainment they had received. Sean Sherlock TD was similar in his praise saying that the Cycle Against Suicide was something extremely worthwhile and very close to his heart.

The stop-off also featured interviews in front of the onlookers with some of the cyclists conducted by Jim Breen of ‘Secret Millionaire’ notoriety who is heavily involved in Cycle Against Suicide. The riders gave their reasons for becoming involved in addition to insights on when they had to seek help for mental health issues.

Among those interviewed were Sheanna Cooke, ex Irish soccer player from Dublin, PSNI officer Darryl who spoke about the affect seeing constable Ronan Kerr blown up had on his own daughter and local woman Ellen Downey, an ex-pupil of St Fanahan’s College. On telling her story regarding mental health, Ellen advised people with concerns for their own wellbeing to ‘be brave and speak out’.

Conor Cusack also spoke to the large crowd describing how at his lowest point he had descended into ‘a valley of darkness’ but that now having sought help and support he was in a much better place.

St Fanahan’s pupil Chloe Connolly was presented with a certificate of appreciation by Jim Breen for allowing the college to have been an anchor school and allowing the cyclists to visit. Tadhg Long, the principal, thanked all the sponsors, all those who had provided food, the students and staff, the community council who donated the float for the occasion, gardai, cyclists, Jim Breen, speakers and in particular staff member Paula Beecher, the event co-ordinator.

The principal stated that “Jim Breen and the ‘Cycle Against Suicide’ team are providing an invaluable service to the people of Ireland. The message of ‘it’s ok not to feel ok, and it’s absolutely ok to ask for help’ is that message that every single student, parent and individual in Mitchelstown and Ireland needs to listen to. We live in a complicated, diverse, and oftentimes scary world and the pressures of modern life can become overbearing for people, young and old. Showing our support for the cause and to each other is the only solution.”

Overall St Fanahan’s College did a superb job in hosting, feeding and entertaining the cyclists with everyone enjoying the occasion. Most importantly the college which had also been busy in recent weeks promoting positive mental health well and truly got the message out that “it’s ok to not feel ok and it’s absolutely ok to ask for help’.

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