Well-known Aughagower man to shave beard for Mindspace Mayo

A well-known man from Aughagower will be shaving his beard to raise funds for one of Mayo’s leading mental health charities.

Seosamh Ó Maolchróin aims to raise €5,000 for the Mindspace Mayo, which provides free and confidential support services to promote young people’s mental health and wellbeing.

Mindspace aims to support people aged 12-25 who are going through a difficult time to ensure they get the support they need.

The charity, which is part-funded by the HSE, provides support from their hub in Castlebar and through outreach services in Ballina and Erris.

Last year, Seosamh climbed Croagh Patrick seven times in memory of seven children who died at the Tuam Mother and Baby Home, where he was born.

Speaking to The Mayo News, Seosamh said his ‘number one’ goal for the fundraiser was to raise awareness of mental health issues.

“It’s just for the young people out there who are going through a hard time. Some of them just don’t want to come forward and say they’re struggling,” said Seosamh.

“The whole thing about mental health, I find the services are very bad. They are underfunded. It’s not the people involved, it’s just the state. It’s very underfunded. That’s the main reason why I’m doing that.”

Donations can be made in Scotts XL Aughagower, The Country Lodge Aughagower, O’Cee’s Coffee Shop Westport, Supervalu Westport agus Broderick's Electrical Westport.

His official beard shaving will take place on Sunday, July 23.

You can also donate to Seosamh’s fundraiser on GoFundMe at: https://gofund.me/c68e956e