A FOUNDATION set up in memory of a popular Santry man who took his own life in 2010 is honouring his memory by raising thousands of euro for groups that support the prevention of suicide and self-harm.
Andy Morgan’s New Year’s Eve death left family and friends devastated but they’re determined that his memory will live on through donations made to organisations that work with those at risk of suicide.
Andy’s pals, Pat Daly and Liam and Veronica Clinton, along with his life partner Joanne Featherstone, decided to do what they could to make sense of the tragedy by helping prevent others needlessly harming or killing themselves.
They set up the Andy Morgan Foundation and have raised close to e20,000, some of which was donated to local groups at a hugely successful wellness workshop held in partnership with Suicide or Survive at the Reco Centre in Ballymun earlier this month.
Pat Daly said the foundation wants to raise awareness about the tragedy of suicide.
“Previous to Andy’s death I knew very little about suicide, but since I’ve become involved in the foundation it’s really opened my eyes to how big a problem it is,
? he told Northside People.
“I was talking to a Garda sergeant recently and he told me that they’re going to at least one suicide every week. And that’s only in one area. The numbers are actually scary.
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Mr Daly explained why the foundation was set up and how it has gone from strength to strength.
“I was just chatting to Liam one night and we came up with an idea to get a football match going, just to try and generate a few quid on a once-off basis that we could donate to charity,
? he said.
“It just snowballed from there.
“Other people started getting involved and local teams like St Kevin’s Boys, Ballymun United and Greenfield Park Boys were very supportive. DCU backed us by allowing the foundation to use its sports facilities so we decided to organise a seven-a-side tournament.
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The tournament raised about e8,500, which Andy’s pals donated to suicide and self-harm crisis centre, Pieta House. A Facebook page was published and a call for volunteers resulted in 16 highly skilled people joining the foundation.
The group meets several times a year to plan events and discuss ideas to generate funds that they can donate to worthy causes in Andy’s memory.
“We decided to donate the money to frontline services,
? said Mr Daly.
“We went out into the community and found some deserving causes that were doing work that tackled self-harm and depression that we could donate the money to.
“We pinpoint an organisation or a project that’s doing good work with children or adults around things like self-harm, or suicide prevention or bullying or whatever, and we present them with some money.
?
At the recent wellness workshop the foundation donated
?¬5,600 to STEPS,
?¬1,500 to Suicide or Survive and
?¬1,000 to Seasons of Growth.
Andy’s friends and his partner have also made a documentary
‘Andy Morgan – A Story’, about the effect Andy’s death had on them. The frank, heart-wrenching video has been viewed over 20,000 times on YouTube.