Futsal charity event in aid of Jigsaw Tallaght promises to be great family day out
By Aura McMenamin
Sports stars including footballers Stephanie Roche and Killian Brennan and Tallaght footballer Jay Byrne will go head-to-head with each other at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght on August 27 to raise much-needed funds for youth mental health charity, Jigsaw Tallaght.
Bands such as The Coronas, Picture This, and Fallen Lights, and stars such as Nicky Byrne and Brian Ormond will also be competing against each other at the indoor football event.
The day promises to be perfect for the family, with superheroes, inflatable darts and soccer and food stalls on site. There will also be a team made up of ex-League of Ireland players and professional freestylers taking part.
The event was the brainchild of Tallaght man Vinny Whelan, who plans to fill the arena to full capacity and raise €10,000 for Jigsaw.
Whelan said he was inspired to create the event after seeing a statistic that placed Ireland as the country with the fourth highest rate of suicide in Europe.
Ireland’s rate is 10.3 per cent among teens aged between 15 and 19 per 100,000 population, which ranks it 34th out of the 37 European nations surveyed.
He said: “I thought it was shocking that Ireland was so high on the list, compared to other countries that have much larger populations.
Although Whelan was able to use his friendship with Coronas singer Danny O’Reilly to get Picture This on board, he relied mainly on Twitter to reach out to celebrities.
Whelan said he is grateful to those attending, as well as a Futsal-expert friend who is planning the layout of the day.
The Tallaght man approached the national Jigsaw office with the Futsal tournament proposal, who gave him advice and guidelines.
Jigsaw Tallaght is one of branches in Ireland which offer early-intervention services to youths aged 12-25, including one-to-one support.
Jigsaw Tallaght is one of thirteen Jigsaw branches in Ireland that offer a free and confidential support service for young people aged 12 – 25. Young people can avail of one-one support from a Clinical Support Worker for between 1-6 sessions, focusing on a particular goal chosen by the young person. Jigsaw Tallaght also provide talks and training for young people, parents and those who work with young people around supporting youth mental health. For more information go HERE.
The event will cost €5 for a ticket, and kicks off at 10am on August 27.
