Caoimhe (15) hopes her song will help those with depression

A young Arklow student is helping to break the stigma of mental health and depression with the release of a new song which she wrote and recorded herself.

Caoimhe Ní Choncúir (15), daughter of Seán and Dee, who attends Gaelcholáiste na Mara, taught herself the guitar and ukelele before she recorded her song ‘Disappear’.

She hopes that the song will help to help people affected by depression.

‘ This song was the first proper song I have ever written and it means a lot to me. The song is about people concentrating on the things they don’t have and not focusing on what they do. When people do this it makes them feel self conscious and also makes them feel sad. This can lead to depression and can have a very strong impact on the individual. I just want people to know that they are not alone. However, sad and depressed they are feeling there is thousands of people feeling the same way or even worse,’ said Caoimhe.

The Junior Certificate student said that it took a lot of courage to share her song, but ultimately she overcame nerves to help others.

‘It took me a lot of courage to share this song but I felt that if I did, it could help people struggling with mental health issues. I would love for people to hear and share this with others so that we can make people feel less alone,’ she said.

Since Caoimhe shared her song on YouTube, she said that the feedback has been wonderful and many people have commented that the song has made them feel happy, which was Caoimhe’s goal from the beginning.

‘It was so amazing to read all the positive comments. People have been telling me how happy the song made them feel. This just makes me feel amazing because I’d love for people to listen to my song on one of their bad days and I would hope it would make them feel better. It’s crazy to think that I wasn’t going to share the song because I’m very shy about my music and avoid sharing it with anyone but my close family. I’m so glad that my parents encouraged me to share it as I feel more confident then I ever have before. I would just like to thank all the people who have commented, liked and shared my song because I can honestly say it has made me so happy and complete,’ she said.