Team-mate takes steps in memory of Lawrence

Raising mental health profile

Friends and family members of a Highland man who took his own life will gather tomorrow to raise awareness of the importance of mental health.

Lawrence Jones, from the Inverness area, died in March last year.

Now his friend and former Strathglass Shinty Club teammate Eoghan Stewart has organised a walk in his memory to remember his great friend and to raise awareness of mental illness.

Mr Stewart said: “Lawrence was pretty much the first person other than friends I already had at the club who I got to know.

“From my first training session on, we became fantastic mates and he was always smiling, having a good laugh.

“He was the type of person you could always depend on. He was always there for you so what happened was incredibly out of the blue and everybody was just shocked.

“It is just devastating. You cannot really process it because that person is always there and then the next they are not.

“There is no real logic to it and it is not something you can reason away.

“It’s definitely something that leaves more questions than answers.

“The ambition is to focus people’s minds in a positive way.”

The event, which mirrors similar ones in Ireland, will incorporate a walk in the small hours from Bught Park in Inverness, along the Caledonian Canal to Dochgarroch, before returning to the city.

All are welcome to attend with walkers of the route asked to gather at the meeting point at Bught Park for 4am on the morning of Sunday March 15.

Although the event has been designed to raise awareness rather than donations, Mr Stewart has said that if desired, any donations can be granted to Highland mental health charity Mikeysline.

If you or anyone you know requires assistance with their mental health, Mikeysline can be contacted on 07779 303 303.

TRIBUTE: Lawrence Jones died in March last year