Maguire family commemorate Thomas on his 20th anniversary

A County Derry family are fundraising for local charity Limavady Initiative for the Prevention of Suicide (LIPS) in memory of their beloved son, brother and uncle.

The Maguire family, from Dungiven, has decided to run or walk 5k every day in the month of October.
The fundraising challenge is a way for the family to remember their dear son, brother and uncle Thomas, who passed away from suicide 20 years ago.

Thomas passed away on Halloween night in 2004.

Lorraine Maguire, Thomas’ sister, spoke to the County Derry Post about her pride for her 15 year-old daughter Ciara, whose idea it was to hold the fundraiser.

“Ciara, my daughter, took the lead in organising the fundraising in memory of Thomas. She is a natural born leader and very assertive. She got the whole family involved and on board with the idea of walking 5k a day.

“The money raised so far is astonishing. It is a huge achievement for Ciara. She is truly an amazing person. She is so caring and kind to others,” Lorraine said.

“Ciara’s school, Gaelcholáiste Dhoire, is great. Ciara is a member of her school's council so they have organised a bake sale as well with all the funds going towards LIPS. They have a really good pastoral care and ethos within the school. They look after the children’s mental health. It is an open thing for them to talk about in school.”

Reflecting on her brother's death, Lorraine continued: “It is crazy to think that this year is 20 years since Thomas passed. He was only 23 when he died.

“Ciara wanted to do something to honour her uncle and continue to raise awareness. It has been 20 years since Thomas lost his life and unfortunately young men are still losing their lives to suicide. Ciara never knew Thomas but because we continue to talk about him and keep his memory alive the children feel like they knew him.”

Lorraine continued: “Honouring Thomas in this way has been good for us. We have been able to come together to honour our loved one. Even if we can’t do it all together at once we keep in contact on our group chat letting each other know how we are getting on. We have family and friends taking part in this from all across the world. It is so nice to think that even after 20 years people still remember and respect Thomas.

“It is tough to think about but we are now at the stage where we are able to discourage other people from thinking there is no other way out. I always say to my children or anyone that is struggling there is never anything that you can not talk about. There is no reason big enough to end your life. There are so many people that love you that you don’t realise.

“When Thomas died I don’t think he would’ve realised the amount of people it affected. It has a real butterfly effect throughout the whole community. Our community in Dungiven has been so good to us. I remember when the news broke of Thomas’ death the community rallied around us and they continue to do so.”

She added: “I get so emotional thinking about how many people have given to this. So many people have been so kind, especially nowadays when people don’t have much disposable income. It is phenomenal. People are struggling with their mental health now more than ever. This can be brought on by financial stress due to the cost of living crisis or the negative impacts of social media. It is a difficult time for people. Many people out there are facing suicidal thoughts

“It is an especially hard time for young people. This is why getting involved in charity work and helping raise awareness is good. They will know that there is a local charity out there they can go to if they are struggling. People need to know that they can talk about it and it is ok to talk about it. We need to be there for young people, especially boys.”

Thomas' niece Ciara Hartin added: “I decided that I would do the fundraiser this year because it is my uncle Thomas Maguire’s 20th anniversary. I wanted to raise money for a local charity that works within the community to prevent suicide and that supports the families like us who have lost loved ones to suicide so that is why I chose LIPS.

“Even though I never met my uncle, he is still a big part of my family and that's very important to me. All the family and friends of Thomas have been out every day doing their 5k so it is very much a team effort. My school, Gaelcholáiste Dhoire has been a big help with the fundraiser and organised a bake sale where we raised almost £300. We are so grateful for every penny that has been donated in Thomas’s memory as it will help so many people, raise awareness of LIPS and hopefully save other families from losing their loved ones.”

The money raised from the challenge will go directly to local suicide prevention charity LIPS.

LIPS Project Manager Mary Molloy shared her thoughts on the fundraising and the local initiative saying: “It is absolutely amazing and inspiring for a young person like Ciara (Thomas’ niece) to take the initiative to organise this. The family has already raised over £2,000 which is amazing. The money raised will go directly back into the community. We run a ‘Hopeful Minds’ programme in local primary schools. We hope to use this funding to deliver the programme to primary schools in Dungiven.

“The charity works all the way from Dungiven to Magilligan. We try to focus on smaller rural schools that don’t have much resources. This is something young people need to be educated on and able to talk about. The more they are able to talk about their feelings and build up resilience young the better.

“As a small charity LIPS relies on fundraising and volunteering so every penny that is raised is spent locally. The money goes back into the community that raises it for us. We also rely on the community to make it known to us where the awareness of suicide is needed in the community. We have lost a number of young men to suicide in the Dungiven area.”

She added: “This is very personal for the family. By doing this it is a lovely way to remember Thomas. We need to encourage people in our communities to talk about suicide and how they are feeling. It is important to not keep these thoughts to yourself. We will continue to help families raise awareness.”

The family will have their final walk in Dungiven on Saturday November 2 at 1.30pm. There will be refreshments offered after in Glór Dhún Geimhin, Main Street, Dungiven. 

For help and information please visit LIPS website: limavadylips.co.uk

If you would like to donate to LIPS and the Maguire family campaign you can do so here: https://bit.ly/4eJHaaB