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ALMOST FOUR YEARS after Gary Speed was found hanged in his home, his family are still looking for answers about exactly what happened to him.
But they have found comfort and help in an Irish suicide-prevention charity that launched this week in London, and have donated counselling rooms in the memory of the former Welsh international football star and manager.
The Gary Speed Rooms were unveiled in the House of Lords at Westminster as part of Irish charity Console’s official UK launch, and will be situated in one of their two new centres in London.
Speaking at the launch event, Gary’s mother Carol said that she might never find out what really happened to her son, but that Console had been a big help in her time of need.
“We haven’t got any answers about Gary’s death, and we probably never will, but as a family we know that Console are always there and only a phone call away,” she said.
If the Gary Speed Rooms help one person in mental health crisis, then that will be a success.
Speed was found by his wife hanged in his home on 27 November 2011 when he was 42 years old. An inquest returned a narrative verdict on his death and failed to confirm whether he had intended to die by suicide.
The CEO and founder of Console, Paul Kelly, told TheJournal.ie about how the Speed family contacted the charity after Gary’s death.
“They made contact with us through a friend and we worked with the Speed family, supporting them through their grief and through their loss when Gary died,” he said.
The Speed family wanted to return the help that Console had given them and raised money for the counselling rooms through a series of golf classics attended by football stars such as Michael Owen, Alan Shearer and Gordon Strachan.
“We feel that the golf days have been a fitting memorial to Gary,” said Carol.
“People like Michael Owen have played in each one, and we also have had great support from the likes of Denis Taylor and former Welsh manager Mike England.”
Console
Console is dedicated to supporting people who feel that they are at risk of suicide as well as those bereaved after the death of a loved one by suicide. It was founded in 2002 by Kelly after the death of his sister.
He said that the feelings of guilt and despair his family felt after the death is what inspired him to start the charity, which sought to help those recently bereaved by a loved one dying by suicide.
“And that’s why I founded Console initially – to support those who are bereaved by suicide and to help them through their grief and through their loss.”
Console has since grown into a nationwide suicide prevention charity in Ireland, with a 24-hour suicide helpline and centres in almost every county. Trained counsellors are employed to help those most at risk and it has a text-in service for people who don’t want to make a phone call.
After he gave a keynote note address at a Suicide Prevention and Bereavement conference in England in 2013, Kelly was approached by a number of English organisations – including the NHS and the Metropolitan Police – about setting up a similar service there.
“The UK has a slightly higher suicide rate per 100,00 people (11.9 compared to 11.1 in most recent confirmed statistics) and we feel that our highly specialised services can help make a difference in London and beyond,” he said.
Over 500 people die by suicide in Ireland every year and Console receives over 3,000 phone calls per-month on its Suicide Helpline. It raises much of the money needed for its services itself and is part funded by the HSE.
Console’s 24 helpline can be reached on 1800 247 247 or you can text HELP to 51444 or visit them on www.console.ie.
Helplines:
Samaritans 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org
Console 1800 247 247 – (suicide prevention, self-harm, bereavement)
Aware 1890 303 302 (depression, anxiety)
Pieta House 01 601 0000 or email mary@pieta.ie - (suicide, self-harm)
Teen-Line Ireland 1800 833 634 (for ages 13 to 19)
Childline 1800 66 66 66 (for under 18s)
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Treating it as a health matter, not a criminal one, is the only way forward.
@Joe Phillips: WARNING THIS COMMENT SECTION IS UNDER SURVEILLANCE!!! ALL ANTI WAR-ON- DRUGS AND GENERAL BACON RELATED CONTENT WILL BE DELETED!!! LEGALISATION IS THE SOLUTION!!!
Seriously, grow up. Treating all drugs as though they are heroin has us where we are today: people buying cannabis from dodgy dealers in dangerous narcotics.
Cannabis is generally less harmful than alcohol. Allow it to be bought in main street shops and keep educated and wiser youth away from the sellers of deathly poisons….
@Kieran Magennis: very true. The argument that drugs must be pursued relentlessly because they are a health concern is a circular argument as most of the health issues are associated with the fact that drugs are illegal. Does anyone seriously believe that nearly one person a day would be dying from drug poisoning if drugs were legal. It is the fact they are illegal that creates by far the biggest threat to those that consume them. Make alcohol illegal and how many people would be going blind and dying from poisoning. Not a single country in the world regardless of harsh sanctions has eradicated drug use. This should be an indicator as to the total failure of the current policy. Time for change.
Why is it a criminal offense to alter your state of mind in the first place?
I mean when someone cheats on their spouse this creates tremendous psychological trauma for the whole family especially the kids – totally legal, no one makes a fuss.
Someone drops some acid with some friends while watching a sunrise – lock him up and throw away the keys.
I think there is something fundamentally wrong with the way our society thinks.
@Termaz Fx: Well said
@Termaz Fx: spot on. We have a societal fear of people getting off their heads on anything other than alcohol.
That is where a lot of the hysteria surrounding drugs and drug policy comes from.
@john doe: Stupid parallel…we know what’s in the Alcohol , we often dont know whats in the stuff we buy from some random street dealer- all kinds of mind & body destroying muck. Oh, AND many of us in society DO CARE when someone- usually a young person- ” is off his/her head” for whatever reason.
@Margate: no Margate you misunderstand.
The harms of the unknown substances are one thing (which would be minimised by legalisation) What myself and the poster above are discussing is the commonly held viewpoint that being high is somehow morally wrong.
If it is not bad for your health when done correctly, such as with a lot of psychedelic drugs, there is nothing actually bad or immoral about getting extremely high. But society in general seems to judge it as wrong…
For example, there are lots of activities which are considerably more harmful to the ones doing them and public in general than most illegal drugs, like motor racing or rock climbing, but because the practitioner does not get high from it nobody judges it as morally wrong.
@Termaz Fx: You hit the nail on the head.
Decriminalisation will never happen here, too many TD’s stuck in the 1950’s, but sure it’s grand to drink yourself into oblivion as don’t I have s couple of pubs me self.
@Brian Smith: the lads in kerry should be allowed drink and drive too. They all want to
@Brian Smith: Too many TDs are publicans. Drug use probably cuts into their margins. They’re also clueless old men largely playing to the people who go out and vote (old people)
Complete BS from our Garda again. Fake numbers from a bunch of fakes.
To really reduce the harms from drugs we need to go past decriminalisation to heavy regulation/ legalisation. This coupled with sensible education is the safest way to deal with all drugs consumed recreationally.
@john doe: hence it won’t happen here til all the FFG voters die off
Why was my comment about saying fook all to the cops bar giving your name and address until your brief arrives deleted ? That’s advise ANY solicitor in the country would give…
@John Ryan: ridiculous that that was taken down
@John Ryan: mine too… i smell bacon.
First they were deleting far right comments. Everyone was happy because they weren’t far right.
Then they started deleting comments concerned about un-vetted immigration. Everyone was happy because they didn’t want to be called racists.
Now they started deleting comments with genuine legal advise with zero hate speech.
History is doomed to repeat itself.
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