Ballykinlar man’s mental health crusade

19 June 2019

MORE than 20 years ago Ballykinlar native Sean Dennis was in deep despair and thought that life was not worth living.

Now he and his friend, Jason Bell, are visiting 78 lighthouses within 10 days throughout Ireland to help end the stigma around mental health.

The 45 year-old left St John’s Point Lighthouse on Saturday morning to embark on a very personal crusade “turning darkness into light” for others in despair.

“I’ve been really affected by suicide, I’ve lost a good friend through suicide and I’m a three-time suicide survivor myself,” said Sean.

A qualified life coach and father-of-one, Sean says he has planned the Lighthouse Tour for years.

He’s also doing it in style — by driving a 1974 Volkswagen Beetle.

Sean explained: “I’m now a NLP [Neuro-Linguistic Programming] master practitioner and a life-development coach as I’ve studied personal development for the last 25 years.

“Regarding the lighthouse concept, we have made a video which will explain about the car — the Bug — as I call it. My best man and best friend, Paul Clendinning, took his life 13 years ago and I’ve created the Bug in memory of him.

“I’ve always wanted to bring the car back home and to visit his graveside to get some closure.

“The plan is that I will answer whatever questions I can on mental health issues that are raised in my Facebook plan and put it in my rucksack. I will answer a question at each lighthouse I can answer and post a short video in what I hope to be good advice.

“The significance of me taking a rucksack around the tour is that when I left home for England, all I had was whatever I had in a ruck and £50 and it was Paul who lent me that money.”

He choose lighthouses to illustrate the concept of how darkness can move into light to show how recovery is possible after have suicidal thoughts.

Sean has lived in England for 23 years and now runs his own manufacturing business. He’s very thankful that he has had this opportunity to do something positive in the fight against suicide.

“Paul was also from Ballykinlar but he came over to England to be my best man when I got married,” explained Sean. “He actually saved my life when I attempted suicide. It actually was my last attempt out of three. I went through a lot between the ages of the 19-21 and he was there for me.

“I’ve carried his loss with me for a long time and I’ve wanted to do something like this since then.

“Unfortunately Paul wasn’t my first friend I lost to suicide. I’ve lost friends growing up in school. But since studying personal development and NLP I understand what goes on in mental health problems. I suppose this tour is my way of giving back.”

Before he and Jason set off on their tour, supported by family and supporters of PIPS Downpatrick, Sean made a video at Paul’s graveside.

While Sean planned the tour as an awareness-raising campaign, he has raised £1,200 which will be shared between local suicide prevention charities, PIPS Downpatrick and Upper Bann.

Brenda McAteer, from PIPS Downpatrick, praised Sean’s efforts.

She said: “Sean is raising incredible awareness around mental health. His intention is to show that all over the country there are people to help it’s a matter of reaching out

“He is fundraising this event for PIPS which will ensure our services run effectively ensuring no one has to wait for help and they will receive immediate support. We are so grateful for Sean’s efforts, he is an inspiration to us all.”

To follow Sean’s progress on the Lighthouse Tour visit www.facebook.com/thelighthousetour/

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