Run or walk through Monivea Woods and you’ll be supporting a very worthy cause

By JIM CARNEY
ABBEYKNOCKMOY Hurling and Camogie Clubs are busy organising their first ever 10km Run and 5km Fun Run or Walk. It’ll take place on Sunday September 2nd, seven days before one of their own hurling stars, Brian Flaherty, proudly takes his place in the Galway panel for the All-Ireland final.
Brian (among those pictured on right) is giving his support to the Club fundraiser. It will financially benefit the Console organisation, which does magnificent work at their Renmore, Galway centre counselling and offering support to families who have been bereaved by suicide and supporting people who may be feeling suicidal.
The ‘Run in the Woods 2012’ will start at Monivea village and take the runners down through Glenaslat and then heading into the woods. The organisers say this is “a safe but challenging route made all the more pleasant by the scenic surroundings of the Monivea woods.”
After the main event there will be a Kiddies Run on the main street in the village, which Gardaí have agreed to close off from traffic during the kiddies’ race. There will be water stops along the routes for the runners and walkers, with refreshments provided after the event in the Hall whilst the prizes are being given out. The run will be officially timed.
The organisers are asking walkers, joggers, runners, young and older, to support this event. Pete Roche from Abbeyknockmoy, who does a great deal of work with Console, will be there on the day and as with other events he has taken part in, people can join in and walk alongside Pete. 
An event like this is vital as, not only does it help raise funds but it also raises awareness and hopefully is another step closer in removing the stigma attached to suicide. There will be representatives from Console there on the day and information available on-site. 

CONSOLE offers counselling and support to families who have been bereaved by suicide as well as those who feel suicidal. This support is available at Console’s Galway centre in Renmore. There is “a specific form of bereavement resulting from suicide and Console creates this much needed counselling and support service. Console has now become a recognised national institution, a vital service that responds to the problems of suicide in this country,” and they have centres in Dublin, Galway, Limerick, Wexford, Cork, Mayo and Athlone. Their dedicated teams of counsellors and psychotherapists provide counselling services to adults and children and they facilitate a network of nationwide support and therapeutic groups.
Console has moved into the area of suicide prevention called 1 Life which is a 24-hour freephone Suicide Prevention helpline for anyone in distress. Professional counsellors and volunteers respond to calls seven days a week, 52 weeks of the year — 1800 247 100. Console provides the services in their Centre at Elm Park, Renmore and money received from the Monivea Woods fund-raiser will go to the Renmore Centre.
Console can be contacted on their 24-hour Freephone Helpline (1800 201 890).
Anyone who wishes to take part in the 10km or 5km can register on runireland.com or on the day. Children can register on the day for the kiddies’ race. Registration opens at 10.00am in the Father Sammon Hall and all walkers and runners can get their race numbers from the designated area.
www.abbeyknockmoyhurling.com or call Sharon (087 6361836).
Among those pictured are Peter Roche, Ronan Cooley, Abbeyknockmoy Intermediate hurling team captain; Brian Griffin, Chairman, and star player Brian Flaherty, while Mary Flaherty with her son Dean and Rosaleen Dolan with her children Cian, Shauna and Eanna will all be doing the 5km walk.