“It’s Not Minor, It Matters” is the message from the Fermanagh Minor football team as they hope to raise awareness around the issue of mental health and wellbeing.

The Erne youngsters are raising money for two charities – New Horizons Action Mental Health Fermanagh, and Samaritans Ireland – as they take part in a number of activities over the course of a month.

The activities range from running marathons, to walking with family, to lifting the phone to ring a friend, and the young men from the Lakelands are hoping to encourage as many members of the public to join them in as many activities as possible.

Fermanagh are waiting, and hopeful, of a date to play Monaghan in the 2020 Ulster semi-final, having defeated Down in Brewster Park in the quarter final, and their Captain, Ronan McCaffrey, explains that they just wanted to do something to help.

“With a lot of people finding this lockdown the toughest of them all, we just decided that we’d take part in a fundraiser to raise awareness for people’s mental health. We know that there are a lot of people struggling at the moment, and it’s just a gesture of reaching out to those in need, and doing whatever we can to help them.”

The campaign, “It’s Not Minor, It Matters” centres around the number five, with research revealing that one-in-five people in Ireland will suffer a serious mental illness at some stage of their lives. It has also been reported that one-in-five people have suffered psychological distress because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

‘Raise awareness’

“We would like everyone to get involved in our activities as much as possible to raise awareness, both within our county and country,” McCaffrey said.

Coach Colm Bradley is delighted to see the squad making a positive impact on society.

He said: “I think it is great to see young people having a social conscience. Too often, we are quick to heap criticism on young people, and we have seen that throughout this pandemic, but here you have a group of young fellas looking to make a real, positive impact on society. They genuinely feel passionately about this issue and they want to raise awareness about it, and they want people to get involved.

“They want people to talk, and to listen, and to connect with others. Fermanagh should be very proud of this group of players.”

And he says that while raising money for two worthy charities is important, he also feels raising awareness is key.

“Obviously, raising money will benefit two worthy charities, but the bigger message here is about awareness, and that is why the Minors want people to get involved.

“They want people to talk and also talk about how they feel, and to ask for help if they are struggling with mental health. Nobody should feel alone, and that is the message our Minors want to get across, and get spread as far as possible.”

For more details on the initiative and to take part in some of the activities, or for information on how to donate, see Fermanagh GAA’s social media channels.