Mickey’s Climb raises over €30K for mental health charities

Father and son duo, Mickey and Ciaran McKenna from Tydanet, raised an impressive €30,130 for two local mental health charities.

Their fundraiser involved climbing the highest freestanding mountain in the world, Kilimanjaro in Africa, in September last, to provide much needed funding for the Solas Drop-In Centre in Monaghan Town and Pieta House in Cavan Town and Castleblayney, to implement resilience and recovery programmes to support people with mental health difficulties, particularly in a post Covid environment.

Solas Drop-In Centre, based in Monaghan, actively supports and assists people who struggle with mental health and emotional wellbeing in developing their own positive mental health and recovery through counselling, peer support, information, signposting education, employment and promoting destigmatisation.

Pieta House has branches in Cavan Town and Castleblayney and provides a professional one-to-one therapeutic service to people who are in suicidal distress, those who engage in self-harm, and those bereaved by suicide.

Mickey would like to thank all the individuals and organisations who kindly donated to the fundraiser, many of whom are from the farming community and food industry in counties Cavan and Monaghan. Mickey also expresses great thanks and appreciation to his son Ciaran, who accompanied him on the arduous climb. They encouraged each other to reach the summit.

Mickey also thanks Padraig Columb in his integrity, hard-work and diligence in co-ordinating the fundraiser and helping to achieve the target, and to everyone else involved in organising or supporting the climb.

The services can be contacted:

- Solas Drop-In Centre can be contacted on 047-72930

- Pieta House Cavan is on 090-6424111