Craig acts as a ‘bridge’ for young people who may be ‘on the edge’
A young Wexford man, who four years was ‘on the edge of suicide,’ is offering one-toone advice to help young people who may be contemplating taking their own lives.
Craig Dwyer, aged 21, a member of Enniscorthy-based Touched by Suicide, says he is acting as bridge between young people and the group.
‘A lot of young people wouldn’t be happy about talking to older people, but they are prepared to talk to me,’ said Craig, who set up an annual soccer match in the name of his close friend Michael Byrne, who died through suicide four years ago.
‘It started with a small thought one night in bed, when I used to send messages to Michael’s Facebook Page as some way of sort of keeping his memory alive. I sent emails, texts and made some calls.
‘It’s all in aid of Touched By Suicide and it’s played by a self-made team, The Michael Byrne Warriors which consists of friends of Michael versus Castledockrell, which was Michaels team and it consists of his home village friends and family,’ said Craig.
He said that in the last two years of the match ‘we’ve knuckled down on raising awareness and allowing people to know that there are small charities can help out and not put you on a waiting list when you need help immediately. We’ve raised roughly, a little over €2,000 to date from the matches alone.’
Craig said that he had now become a big part of Touched by Suicide and raising awareness about it.
He said that as a result of the tragedy involving Michael and his own circumstances at the time, he decided to offer his own services through social media to see if he could help those who were in a bad place and thought they had no one to turn to.
‘It started off just like that. I approached Touched by Suicide and put up my details on Facebook and people started contacting me.’
Craig said that over the past two years he had helped at least 15 people ‘in my age group’ get into counselling.
‘I put up posts on Facebook weekly with my contact information and that for Touched by Suicide and, with their permission, I refer anyone who contacts me on to them in what is a completely confidential and free service,’ he said.
Craig said most of the problems he encounters relate to depression and anxiety.
‘Most of those I speak to feel there’s no-one to turn to, and the gap is well and truly there. I didn’t know about Touched by Suicide until I started working with them,’ he said.
Craig said the day before his friend Michael Byrne died, he too had been considering suicide.
‘I was very depressed and had decided it was the end of me like. But I came in and found my friend has passed away and with all the upset and anguish I realised that I could help other people rather than feel that way myself.’
A former student from Enniscorthy Vocational College, Craig said his parents, James and Alison, were proud of what he was doing as ‘ they can see I’m making a difference rather than feeling that way myself’.
‘I’ve come a long way since I was on the edge myself, thank God.’
Craig can be contacted on 087 1355182 or via Facebook.
Kay Quinn, the founder of Touched by Suicide runs a 24-hour helpline on her own phone (087 6280952) offering access to the counsellors who speak to clients and decide whether someone first needs to see a GP.
She lost two of her five sons to suicide - her youngest, 16-year-old James in 1999 and her eldest, 27-year-old Harry in 2005. Two years after Harry’s death, she co-founded the charity to raise funds for counselling services for people who are affected by the suicide of a loved one or who are suicidal themselves, with a second hand shop in Enniscorthy as the main cash cow.