Time to put mental health on the agenda.
The family of the late Caoilte O Broin will hold a silent candlelit vigil for him tonight at 7pm outside Leinster House on Kildare Street.
Commenting on the vigil, Cat O Broin, Caoilte’s sister, said: “Because my brother abused alcohol to help him cope with the pain of his mental health difficulties, he had what health care professionals call a ‘dual diagnosis’.
“This meant that he could not access vital services – and that our family was in constant danger.
“We went public with our story on JOE in December, but Caoilte never got the help he needed and died of his mental illness on January 2 of this year.
“This vigil is not only for Caoilte, and the silence isn’t only in remembrance,” Cat continued.
“We will stand in solidarity with everyone who suffers with ill mental health in Ireland, and our silence will represent those families who are denied a voice when seeking help for their loved ones, as we were.
“Since our story broke, we have been contacted by countless others who are being let down by our structures and suffering as a result of the state of mental health services in this country.”
At the vigil, the O Broin family will distribute smiling masks for attendees to hold over their faces during a minute’s silence.
Cat explains, “The masks represent the false self that those who are suffering with their mental health often feel under such pressure to portray to the world around them.”
Cat is hopeful that the vigil will have a large attendance.
“We would love to see as many people at the vigil as possible,” she said.
“Our aim is to help bring about changes to our mental health services so that no one ever needs to suffer as deeply as Caoilte did again in Ireland, and no other family ever has to experience what we went through.”
Last month Cat O Broin’s fiancé, Shane Gillen, told JOE about the plans for the vigil and the message to politicians that nobody should needlessly die of mental illness in Ireland.
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