Limerick charity has helped 1,300 children through grief over 10 years

THE Children's Grief Centre Limerick celebrated it's 10-year anniversary on Friday with a high profile journalist telling the harrowing story how he lost both his parents, at a morning of talks and workshops at LIT.

The Irish Examiner's political editor, Dniel McConnell, gave an arresting and candid speech about the struggles he had with grief growing up - and how he wished he could have availed of such a service during his time of need.

McConnell wryly stated: "I usually talk about the politics and the economy, but I never get to talk about myself" and recalled his experiences with grief in his life.

Having lost his mother at 12 and his father at 23, McConnell lamented the fact that they weren't there for the major milestones in his life - but through therapy and strong relationships with those in his life, he "worked through it".

"Therapy is a jigsaw in your head" he stated.

His wife implored him not to "give the Disney version of grief" in his speech and be honest about his struggles.

McConnell noted that there's a tendency among Irish males in particular to "buck up and get on with it" but that resulted in him feeling like a "young, lost boy".

The Children’s Grief Centre in Limerick, has helped “over 1,300 children”, aged four to 18, since opening 10 years ago.

Sr. Helen Culhane, founder and director of the service, said that the service is already "over-capacity" and that they need four million Euro for a new building that would help the service run as efficient as possible and to meet demand.

The annual cost of running the service is approximately €150,000 according to Sr. Culhane.

“It really is very sad that 4 per cent of our budget comes from the Government, and 96 per cent comes from the general public and from my own congregation. A service like this needs to be fully funded if we are serious about helping our children.” 

Olive Foley, wife of Munster rugby coach Anthony "Axel" Foley, is now an ambassador for the service and spoke of her own experiences. “Anthony died so suddenly, in his sleep, very unexpectedly. So, I was left with two grieving children, and absolutely no experience, and in complete shock myself."

“Children need help and support with discerning their grief and what has happened to them, whether it’s separation of their parents or the [death] of a parent or sibling. They need help and support early on to prevent problems down the road.”