Minister for Mental Health Mary Butler with Shane Moynihan TD and Kenneth Egan with Beacon of Light staff during the visit
Beacon of Light showcase valuable service
The Beacon of Light Counselling Centre in Clondalkin welcomed Minister for Mental Health, Mary Butler TD to an enlightening showcase in the centre.
The Minister’s Special Advisor, Ian Power and Fianna Fáil TD, Shane Moynihan also attended the North Clondalkin centre to witness the hard work and valuable services that are provided by the staff.
CEO of Community Therapy Ireland, Maria Cleary, visited the centre alongside the Minister to represent the national association of counselling and psychotherapy services across Ireland.
Since 2001, Beacon of Light has provided affordable counselling services to those in need around North Clondalkin, with CEO Geoffrey McCarthy at the forefront for the past 10 years.
The Centre’s doors were opened to these important visitors with the intention of showing “the Minister the strong governance and community that the centre holds” Mr McCarthy told The Echo.
BLCC has offered members of the community help through its Breakthrough Programme which was first established in 2016 and is currently coached by Olympic Silver Medallist, Kenneth Egan.
The Programme utilises psychotherapy, psychoeducation, physical education and nutritional advice to address mental health issues such as anxiety, anger management, addiction and depression.
In 2025, the Breakthrough Programme branched out and began to offer women the same services, through the support of Cairn and the Irish Youth Foundation.
The Beacon of Light ensures that those in need can access counselling services regardless of their financial situation, with most service users paying between €10 and €20.
“We don’t throw anybody away based on their means or their circumstances,” Mr McCarthy explained.
He also expressed the importance of Government funding to services such as BLCC,
“Community-based psychotherapy is very strong in certain areas and provides an important service to the community as well as being a really valuable asset to the overall mental health system” he said.
He went on to describe how community-based therapy is underfunded and under-resourced and it is a case where members of staff must liaise with the Government to promote and bring awareness to the valuable work that is undertaken in centres such as the BLCC.
Mr McCarthy highlighted how funding from Government bodies is necessary to ensure the service is secure in their capacity to provide support to communities well into the future,
“It’s important that this program is sustainable going forward, and that services like the Beacon of Light are sustainable over the next 20 years.”
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
