The members of Beann Eadair GAA and their families have come together to walk or run a combined 3,171kms this weekend to raise vital funds and awareness for Jigsaw, The National Centre for Youth Mental Health. 

“Isolation is leaving so many people in our club and community without the core things we value for our mental wellbeing. Coming together for training, the chats and the friendships” said Aidan Comerford, Beann Eadair Chairman.

“We wanted to do this challenge to bring everyone in the club together, to give us all something to work towards while still being apart, to connect and support each other during this time that we would otherwise be flat out with training and competing.  We also know only too well that Jigsaw makes such a big difference every day by helping young people in dark times, so we wanted to do what we could as a club for them”

 “We in Jigsaw have embraced this challenge as we have had so many amazing teams and clubs like Beann Eadair coming to us looking to support their young members, the young people in their community during these challenging times,” said Joanne Ryan of Jigsaw.

“Since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, our team has been working tirelessly to re-imagine the support that we give to those who most need it. But demand for our services continues to grow – and we must be ready to meet it. That is why support from Beann Eadair is so important to us, now more than ever”

At the close of Day One of Beann Eadair’s On the Move Walk/Run, we have been blown away by the phenomenal response to our initiative. As the day comes to a close, we have far exceeded our target of 3,171 kilometres, having collectively racked up a fantastic 5,280 kilometres.

Throughout today, the Beann Eadair jerseys could be seen pounding the pavements and hills around the area, with families enthusiastically partaking in the runs and walks while safely socially distancing.

It was so heartening to see” said Jane Wall, PRO of Beann Eadair Club .

“In addition to our club members and their families, we’d really like to thank the huge array of well-known personalities and sports people who took the time out to record video clips to support our cause. Their support has been instrumental in getting us the wide exposure we have achieved over the past week or so.”

Beann Eadair has managed to raise over €11,000 in the first day of the walk/run alone and plan do it all again tomorrow, May 17th and hopefully raise even more much needed funds in aid of Jigsaw.

Beann Eadair GAA have set up online fundraising page for their challenge, where they will be updating their progress daily on the combined kilometres they have walked or ran each day.  All members of the public can support their efforts and donate to Jigsaw directly by visiting the page at: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/beanneadairgaa

For more information on how you can support Beann Eadair please contact Jane Wall [email protected]Telephone 0868120274

For more information on how your club can get involved in a challenge for Jigsaw, please email Joanne Ryan at [email protected]

Who are Jigsaw?

We are Jigsaw, the National Centre for Youth Mental Health.

We are a charity who passionately believe that with your help we can bring about an Ireland where every young person’s mental health is valued and supported.

We aim to achieve this by:

• delivering a range of prevention and early intervention services to improve the lives of young people (aged 12-25) living with mental health issues
• undertaking ground-breaking, collaborative, high-impact youth mental health research
• providing the most up-to-date information about youth mental health in Ireland
• and by influencing change and raising awareness of youth mental health at a local and national level.

We strive to improve the mental health outcomes for young people and develop mentally healthy and supportive communities that can continue to thrive long after our work with them is done.

For more information on the 5-A-Day for your Mental Health visit https://jigsawonline.ie/young-people/five-a-day-for-your-mental-health-2/