In 2023, Swinford man Alan Heaney undertook what is known as ‘the toughest foot race on earth’, the six-day, 251-kilometre Marathon des Sables in the Sahara Desert, raising funds for Mindspace Mayo, which supports young people in Mayo aged 12 to 25 with their mental health. Recently, Alan Heaney presented Peadar Gardiner, Project Manager with Mindspace Mayo with a cheque for the €14,762 raised during the ultramarathon, before promptly embarking on another gruelling feat of endurance.
On August 9, 10 and 11, a group known as The Ultra Cyclists of which Alan Heaney is a member took on the arduous three-day ‘Nine Peaks Challenge’ to again raise funds for Mindspace, along with Macra na Feirme’s ‘Making the Moove’. The challenge involved biking to and hiking nine different peaks – three mountains each day in three different provinces (including three Mayo mountains), a total of 500 kilometres of cycling and 75 kilometres of hiking. The event has already raised over €20,000.
Peadar Gardiner, Project Manager with Mindspace Mayo extended heartfelt gratitude to Alan for his ongoing support, saying: “We are incredibly grateful to Alan for his ongoing commitment to fundraising for Mindspace. His efforts and dedication, taking on events that test participants to their absolute limits physically, mentally and emotionally, are nothing short of inspiring. Fundraising efforts like this enable Mindspace to continue offering free, community-based mental health supports to young people across Co. Mayo that make a significant positive difference to their lives.”
Alan Heaney said: “I think the work Mindspace is doing is so important, and the service gives young people in Mayo the opportunity to access free support locally and someone to listen to them and help them if they are not in a great space or going through a tough time.”
Photo: Alan Heaney
Mindspace Mayo provides a mental health primary care service in the community that is free at the point of contact to young people between the ages of 12 and 25. The core objective of Mindspace is to provide brief, evidence-informed youth mental health support to individuals experiencing mild to emerging mental health difficulties, and to support those at future risk of developing mental health conditions. Approaches used within Mindspace include psychoeducation, cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), solution-focused brief therapy, mindfulness-based stress reduction, motivational interviewing, harm reduction and relapse prevention, person-centred counselling and guided problem-solving.
Mindspace operates from a central hub in Castlebar, with a weekly outreach service in Ballina and Erris. The service was developed in partnership with young people, and since its inception in 2015 has supported over 5,000 young people. Young people or their parents, teachers or GPs can make a referral directly by visiting www.mindspacemayo.ie or calling 094 904 7001.
