Host: Brian Higgins CEO, Pieta House
Cat O’Broin (Digital Co-Ordinator, Pieta House), Moninne Griffith (Executive Director, BeLonGTo), Shane Byrne (Former International Rugby Player, Supporter Pieta House), Joe Caslin (Irish IIllustrator & Street Artist)
Pieta House opened its doors 11 years ago and has since helped over 30,000 people in suicidal distress or engaging in self-harm. Throughout that time the Pieta House team have noticed certain threads weaving their way through the life stories of people who turn up on their doorstep. Many of these issues are deeply connected into social stigmas that still run deep in our society such as our identity, our colour, our creed, our sexuality, our gender, our net worth and our relationships. The labels we place on each other and how we judge each other causes great pain in our culture. We want to explore these stigmas and find out what we can do to transform ourselves into a more empathetic, compassionate community accepting of people who come from all walks of life. What makes us different makes us more beautiful.
Brian Higgins
Brian Higgins is the CEO of Pieta House. He previously held the position of Director of Services for Missing People. a national UK charity which aims to bring missing children and adults back together with their families. Prior to that he spent a number of years as a member of the senior management group of Depaul Ireland, in service development and management.Brian has significant international experience, having worked as National Coordinator and Director of Children’s Services with Rainbow Project International in Zambia and as the founding Executive Director of Depaul USA. He has a Master of Social Science degree in Criminology and is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute.
Cat O Broin
Cat O Broin is a mental health advocate and digital marketer who has written and spoken widely on the topics of addiction, dual-diagnosis, and suicide. Now working online in suicide prevention with Pieta House, Cat’s personal and professional experiences have given her a wealth of insight into cultivating wellness in our digital spaces, crucial to safely navigating the sea of information we are awash in, and managing the speedy transition through which we have moved to living so much of our lives online.
Moninne Griffith
Moninne Griffith is Executive Director at BeLonGTo . Prior to this Moninne worked as Director of Marriage Equality, a single-issue organisation working for equality for same-sex couples, their families and their children for 8 years, since it’s launch in February 2008. Her work involved managing the Political, Mobilisation, Communications, Legal and Fundraising Strategies of the organisation. Before this Moninne worked as a solicitor in general practice for almost ten years and volunteered with FLAC, the Free Legal Advice Centres, and Women’s Aid. She has an MA in Women’s Studies from UCD and is the current Chairperson of the National Women’s Council of Ireland. We are delighted to be joined by Moninne today as Pieta House now work along side BeLonGTo on various projects.
Shane Byrne
Shane Byrne is a former Irish International and Leinster rugby player. He is nicknamed ‘Munch’ or ‘Mullet’ (a reference to his hair style).A native of Aughrim, Co Wicklow, Byrne played Gaelic Football up to under-16 level with the local Aughrim club. Then he went on to become one of the most respected Irish Rugby players in his time. He also travelled with the Lions Tour in 2005. Byrne is a director with Arklow Waste Disposal, his family business. Byrne has been a captain on the sports quiz show Know the Score on RTE since November 2016 and is a regular on all National television stations as a rugby pundit.He is married to the beautiful Caroline and has twin girls Alex and Kerry. He is very supportive of the work of Pieta House and very honest about the struggles at the end of his professional rugby career.
Joe Caslin
Joe Caslin is 32-year-old teacher working in Tullamore who is also responsible for some of the most talked-about and thought-provoking street art seen throughout the cities of Ireland.Caslin came to national attention back in 2015, when his mural The Claddagh Embrace went up on George’s Street in Dublin and became a symbol of the marriage referendum. “As a nation, we have pushed our young men to the very edges of society and created in them feelings of neglect and apathy. It is now time to empower these young lads and give them a sense of belonging”.
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We rely on the generosity of the public to fund our work and so far together we have achieved great things! Please do continue to support us so we can provide future generations in Ireland with the resources to recognise and talk about their emotions, and equip them to navigate the ever-changing world around them as they grow
