Bressie Talk on Mental Health Awareness

Barack Obama Plaza, Moneygall organised an evening to open up the conversation around mental health in Tipperary by bringing Niall Breslin AKA Bressie to talk on the subject and share his own experiences with attendees.  The event also launched the month of May as Green Ribbon month and a #TimeToTalk with See Change’s CEO John Saunders encouraging everyone present to engage in discussions around mental health.  Funds generated through ticket sales for the event will be donated by the Barack Obama Plaza to Pieta House in Roscrea.  Scoops Music played for guests ahead of the talk and donated proceeds from their CD sales during the evening to Pieta House Roscrea also.

The event was all inclusive with guests of every age attending and contributing to the conversation.  Individual guests shared their own stories around mental health and how they have dealt with their own challenges.  Bressie gave mental health improvement tips to apply in everyday life and also gave information on managing stress around exam time which is available on alustforlife.com.

Speaking at the event, Owner of the Barack Obama Plaza Pat McDonagh said “we were delighted to organise and host this landmark event in Tipperary.  It is vital that mental health is discussed openly and events such as this can open doors for those dealing with mental health issues.  We stongly believe in promoting positive mental health within communities and among our employees.  This evening demonstrates the need for events such as this throughout the country.”

Henry Healy, Manager of the Barack Obama Plaza and Event Organiser, said “feedback following the event has been highly positive.  This is the first time an event of this kind has been organised in the local area and the need for this is greatly apparent.  Tickets sold out very quickly and we worked to facilitate as many attendees as possible.  Green Ribbons will be available in the Barack Obama Plaza and Tipp Town Plaza throughout the month of May.  We do hope that the wearing of these will further encourage people to talk.”

Musician and television star Bressie is a positive mental health advocate who has shared his own experiences of dealing with anxiety and depression through media and his book Me and my mate Jeffrey.  His mental health blog My1000Hours has grown into alustforlife.com.  Alustforlife.com aims to create long lasting social change.  The online website and community is a movement for wellbeing which offers a platform for people to share personal stories of how they navigated their way through difficult periods on their lives.