THE Mullaghdun Community Association hosted a free Mental Wellbeing Evening last Thursday at the local community hall, following two heartbreaking tragedies in the area.
Over 250 people attended the event, which was held to support mental health awareness and healing within the local community.
It was organised in response to the recent tragic deaths of Aaron Leonard and Barry Leonard, two much-loved members of the Belcoo community.
Their passing has left a deep impact on the wider area, prompting a heartfelt community response.
Emmet Scollan, one of the key organisers, spoke candidly about the urgent need for greater mental health support.
“In the community and parish of late, we’ve had two suicides in the last six weeks beside each other, and we’ve had four suicides in the last four years within a two-mile radius,” he explained.
Emmet also shared a personal reason for his involvement in the event.
“I lost my father to cardiac arrest seven years ago, and I was so grateful for the help and support we received as a family from our community,” he said.
“I wanted to help organise the event to give something back.”
Emmet noted that the recent losses had left many in the community feeling fearful and uncertain.
He said, “There was a lot of fear around what could happen next, and we wanted to reach out to support the community and direct people to mental health charities in the area.”
Reflecting on the emotional toll of recent years, Emmet added, “On top of the suicides we’ve had in the Belcoo, Mullaghdun, and Blacklion area, there have been a lot of bereavements and a lot of people grieving in the last couple of years. A lot of people have probably just got on with it, and we as an area felt we needed something to help those.”
The evening featured several powerful guest speakers who shared their own experiences to help break the silence around mental health.
The event was held in partnership with Action Mental Health Enniskillen and was generously sponsored by Mannok and Greentown.
After the talks, many guests stayed behind for music, refreshments, and informal conversations, an opportunity for people to connect and share.
“People stayed behind, talked, and opened up,” said Emmet. “We are hoping to do something like this again in the future.
“If the event we organised only helps one person, and one person took something away from it, then it would be well worth it.”