Conor's Call giving mum focus to walk and talk

BRIEGE McEvoy says that the feedback from the first drop-in session and publicity from the launch of Conor’s Call has given her focus ahead of announcing a walk and talk initiative.

Briege lost her 23-year-old son Conor to Covid in August 2021 and along with the Caring Coins charity set-up a support group in the memory Conor.

“I would say it has given me focus,” said Briege.

“People are more aware now. Greif is always there; it is never far away and the tears are never far away. You just learn to get up every day and talking does help me. People think when they start talking about Conor and I start crying that they have upset me and apologise but they have not upset me, it is more the fact that they have talked about Conor with me and it makes me feel that he is not forgotten.

“He will always be with us, there is a wee bit of me that feels he is still here and I think that is what gets me up every day.

“I think he would be proud.”

The drop-in session was a resounding success according to the co-founder of Caring Coins charity Kerrie Havern.

“We were very pleased with the day, we had PIPS, Divina’s Ark, the Memory Stone, Cruise Bereavement,” said Kerrie.

“At one point were able to send someone who was having a difficult time at that moment straight over to PIPS, so even on our first day we helped that one person.

“That’s what we said, if it is only one person, well it is one person that it means so much to and that is what it is all about.

“We have got positive feedback from the people that did attend we were able to signpost people over to the charities that were here so they could help people deal with the issues they are trained to deal with. For what we wanted it to do, it did exactly what it said on the tin.

“People came in and Briege and I were here to welcome them and within minutes we sort of knew who they needed to speak to and it was a really informal introduction. It was lovely to their services on the day and they have agreed to become a collective.”

Conor’s Call will be central to the collective with five registered charities Caring Coins, PIPS, Divina’s Ark, the Memory Stone and Cruise Bereavement providing vital support.

“We will only be referring people, we will signposting them, we won’t be following up or asking questions, we will be giving people the information we are given,” Kerrie said.

“All of the partnerships for this collective have agreed to take referrals from Briege and myself and the team at Conor’s Call and Caring Coins. That itself was fantastic because now we know our foundations is very sturdy moving forward.”

So, about this walking group, it begins this Wednesday (June 12) from 7pm to 8pm and will take place every Wednesday during the summer. It leaves from Caring Coins Café on Edward Street and will do a lap of the city, which includes Hill Street and Monaghan Street.

Briege will become a registered Walk Leader and she feels that this can be something that will help people who are struggling to talk about how Covid affected them and she doesn’t want her son’s memory to be defined by how he died but by the good Conor’s Call can do for people.

“It is engaging with them and hopefully they will feel comfortable enough to talk and it will be good to talk among friends and know it will not go any further,” Briege said.

“I just feel so much support around me. People who didn’t know now do know and people are stopping me on the street at talking about it. It can’t be brushed under the carpet; it is something that happened and there is probably people out there thinking ‘here she goes again.’

“We lost and we want them remembered. This turning something horrendous into something positive and I feel like Conor is looking down on me. We remember them for who they were not only how they died.

“People are talking about Covid again, there is a lady in work who spoke to me and her brother died from Covid and I never knew that and some of the stories have heard are horrendous too.

“People are feeling that they can come to me and talk about it, which is good.”