A Galway school’s senior hurlers are taking to the field with a very special message this year – and it’s more to do with health than hurling.
St. Joseph’s Patrician College – better known as the Bish – have been proudly wearing their new jerseys this season, emblazoned with the Pieta House logo ‘Mind Our Men’.
And it’s thanks to a fundraising campaign led by a member of the squad and a man with a famous Galway hurling heritage, Martin Connolly.
The son of Murt Connolly – one of the famed Castlegar brothers – Martin organised to have the team’s jerseys emblazoned with the Pieta House logo for this season.
He has been actively volunteering for Pieta House since his family held the fundraising event, ‘100,000 Steps for Cormac’ in 2014, in memory of his brother who passed away from cancer in 2011.
The Connollys decided to organize a fundraiser to remember Cormac – and they choose Pieta House at their charity because they recognized the need for a charity that helped young people in particular to cope with mental health and suicidal tendencies.
Martin’s mother Mary explains how the jersey initiative came about.
“He came up with the idea that if he could raise €500 himself towards the jerseys that he would speak to Pieta and his teacher about getting the Pieta ‘Mind Our Men’ logo on the jerseys. Pieta was delighted to be involved in this campaign in the school,” she said.
The concept for the Pieta jerseys came off the back of a series of positive mental health seminars that were held in the school.
Raising awareness for the work organisations like Pieta House carry out is very important to the Connollys, and Mary hopes the jerseys will be helpful going forward.
“One of the things Martin was aware of when getting Pieta involved with their logo on the jerseys was that if lads were looking for someone to talk to or any help that they would know that Pieta was somewhere that they could go and the name and services would be familiar to them,” she said.
The jerseys have served the team well so far this year and they are now gearing up for a Keith Hayes Cup semi-final clash with St. Raphael’s College, Loughrea later this month.
See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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