6
Midleton’s Mark O’Sullivan Holding A Five-Hour Spinathon For Cian’s Care
by ALAN SHEEHAN Midleton’s Mark
O’Sullivan, better known to many as Fan- ta, will take part in a five-hour spinathon to raise money for local charity Cian’s Care on Saturday, 27 May. Mr O’Sullivan will cy-
cle for five hours without a break while wearing full firefighter’s turn- out gear in front of the Courthouse in Midleton later this month. “I’ll be doing a five- spinathon
hour with-
out a break,” said Mr O’Sullivan, “on 27 May outside the Courthouse. I will be wearing a full fire suit; helmet, the jacket, the gloves, the pants and the boots. The gear is about 40 pounds in weight.
I previously
did a similar spinathon in the
gear for four
hours and it was very, very, very tough with the whole suit on. I lost about nine pounds in those four hours.” Mr O’Sullivan will
be joined on the day by dancers from Midle- ton’s Studio D, Lifetime Martial Arts Midleton and Billie-Jean Sargent’s Rhythm Dance Compa- ny. DJ Killian O’Reilly will be providing music throughout. “I reckon it will attract
over 1,000 people,” said Mr O’Sullivan. “We have a couple of ce- lebrities coming down as well. It will be well marshalled too; we have loads of stewards on the day to keep the traffic and people moving.” The
money raised
will go towards Cian’s Care, which is fundrais- ing for 18-year-old Cian Twomey from Ballina-
curra who was recently diagnosed with para- ganglioma, a rare form of cancer. Treatment for paraganglioma can- not be sought in Ireland and as such Mr Twom- ey will need to travel to Rotterdam, in the Neth- erlands, with the Cian’s Care group aiming to raise €65,000 to cover the costs. “At the end of the day
it is not about me,” said Mr O’Sullivan. “It is about Cian, to get Cian the treatment. The spi- nathon is a huge chal- lenge but it needs to be done; they have to get the money.” More
information
about Cian’s Care can be found at the group’s Facebook page, with the GoFundMe page up and running under the title Cians Care.
Cobh Woman Shares Her Story With Midleton Students at Mental Health Awareness Event
by SEAMUS WHELEHAN
Continued from front page The Cobh woman told
the large crowd that gath- ered at ‘My Place’ Youth Drop In Centre how bul- lying, the breakup of her parent’s marriage
Walsh, Minister of State at the Department of Jus- tice and Equality David Stanton, and Stephanie Savage from Recovery to Work were among those who spoke. The main message of
and
relationship pressures left her feeling “numb inside”. The East Cork woman was among a number of people to deliver a talk on mental health awareness, in addition to the effects which alcohol and drugs can have on young peo- ple and the supports that are there for those in cri- sis.
Fair City actress and
mental health campaign- er Rachel Sarah Murphy (Jo Fahey in the show), Cloyne Youth Diocesan Service Youth Officer Ross Bonner, Communi- ty Officer Garda Rachel McGrath, Youth Liaison Officer Margaret O’Con- nell, Drug and Alcohol Worker Gemma Turner, Probation Officer Bernie
the day was “it’s ok not to feel ok” and “it’s abso- lutely ok to ask for help.” At 16 Deana found
herself smoking her first joint. By 18 she had pro- gressed to doing lines of cocaine, taking ecstasy and drinking heavily in an effort to numb herself from a number of painful memories. Deana became increas-
ingly reliant on drink and drugs and surrounded herself with people who felt the same. “I would go out at the
weekends and I would cry in anger. I would cause arguments for no reason and I would punch walls like
they were
and looked for a way out. She felt trapped in a vi- cious cycle she felt would never end. “As I hit the water it was like my whole body went into shock. It felt the world went on a stand still while I was under the water, no thoughts, no feelings, just numb.
I
didn’t want to end my life, I just wanted to end the pain and I thought it was the only way.” Deana believes she was
dealt a second chance that night when she was rescued from the water close
to Cobh’s Deep
one that
Water Quay. “I definitely had some- looking
over me
to be alive because the waves that
I don’t think I’ll
night. I’m lucky night were
so heavy.” “I was given a second chance and by God I’m going to cher- ish it.
punch-
ing bags. There was so much anger in me that I couldn’t control.” Last July O’Flaherty found herself struggling,
forgive myself for what I put my friends and fami- ly through.” “I have lost friends over my drunken behaviour and the choic- es I made.”
The turning point
came when Miss O’Fla- herty was put in contact with Gemma Turner, Drug and Alcohol work- er.
“We all have goals in
life, so make them hap- pen. Set yourself an aim and make your dreams come true. Anything is possible if you put your mind to it. Fight the de- mons inside. I know I have. It was hard but there’s always light at the end of the tunnel.” “Difficult roads always
lead to beautiful desti- nations. Life is what you make of it. It’s ok to get lost every once in a while. Sometimes getting lost is how we find ourselves” Deana told the young au- dience. She said the love and support from her family and friends was a vital part
of her continuing
journey to recovery. If you or anyone you
know are in distress the first person to contact is your local GP who can guide you to the relevant
Tel: 021 463 8000 • Email:
info@eastcorkjournal.ie • Web:
www.eastcorkjournal.ie
• Margaret O’Connell Garda Juvenile Liason Officer with Ross Bonner CDYS,Fair City actress and mental health campaigner Rachel Sarah Murphy CEO of the Irish Film Acadamey, Garda Rachel McGrath Community guard and Detective Inspector Brian Goulding Midleton Garda station
eastcorkjournal @eastcorkjournal / #eastcorkjournal
service. Alternatively you can
speak to your career guidance
counsellor or
an adult. The following organ-
isations can also be con- tacted for assistance.
- Free-phone 24/7 Sui-
cide Prevention Helpline: 1800 742 745 -Free-phone
24/7
Farm & Rural Stress Helpline: 1800 742 645 - 1life Free-phone Sui- cide 24/7 Helpline: 1800
247 100 or Text ‘help’ to 51444 - 24/7 Suicide
reavement Helpline
phone: 087 7986944 -Pieta House suicide
and self-harm crisis cen- tre 1800 247 247
Be-
info@eastcorkjournal.ie
Thursday, 4th
May 2017
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