IN 2018 it was reported that for every 100,000 15-24-year-olds in the north of Ireland, 17.8 of them took their own life. This is a damning statistic that many of us have unfortunately become quite familiar with. This rate increases when you begin to examine subsections of society such as LGBTQIA+ people and ethnic minorities. For me, I am personaly familiar with this. As we approach World Mental Health Month (October), I’ve decided to talk about my story. How at the age of 21-years-old, I attempted to take my own life. After years of heightened depression, anxiety and the refusal that anything was wrong.
NEW words and phrases enter the vocabulary of any living language. Sometimes they’re a little confusing. I’m still not 100 per cent clear on ‘gaslighting’. Sometimes they’re rude and vivid, like ‘clusterf k’. Sometimes they’re empty clichés, like ‘going forward’. And sometimes they’re weapons, like ‘Northern Irish’.
EFFORTS by the British government and the unionist parties to stymie the conversation on future constitutional change have actually brought a greater focus on the growing momentum around the upcoming unity referendum. The criticism of An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar by the British Secretary of State and a range of unionist voices for daring to suggest that a united Ireland will happen in his lifetime is the latest example of unionist and Tory efforts to delegitimise the goal of Irish unity.
A FUNDRAISING night will be held in the Glenowen this Saturday night to raise money for an initiative dedicated to working with impoverished communities in Zambia.