Killorglin's two Olympians have rowed-in with their support for the 2021 Kerry Mental Health & Well-being Fest by coming on board as ambassadors for the event.

Taking place from tomorrow (Saturday) to next Saturday (October 16), Monika Dukarska and Aileen Crowley, who recently competed for Ireland in the rowing at the Tokyo Games, are asking people of all ages to get involved in the festival for the good of their mental health.

The Kerry Mental Health and Well-being Fest aims to create awareness of, and schedule events that empower people to engage with, the Five Ways to Wellbeing – Connect | Give | Take Notice | Keep Learning | Be Active.

Monika Dukarska said one of the Five Ways to Well-being was of particular benefit to her during her Olympic preparations.

"When things were getting tough with selection or training sessions, I was journaling and writing down things that went well rather than putting pressure on myself constantly to perform. I was picking very small targets or things that I enjoyed about my day to detach from the pressure of performing all the time. That worked for me superbly. It gave me things to enjoy that I wouldn’t necessarily have taken notice of before.”

The Olympic Rowers, as women in sport, are delighted to see that many of the events during the Kerry Mental Health and Well-being Fest will be geared towards women and girls.

"I can only see a workplace environment from a sporting perspective and I’m definitely aware that it is different for women, from what I’ve noticed in sport," Aileen Crowley, from Killorglin Rowing Club and Rowing Ireland, said.

"So, to see female-specific events is fantastic because there is a difference, unfortunately, in most workplaces between men and women, and for kids from an early age up to adulthood, but that is starting to balance out.”

WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY

Organised by an interagency steering group, the Kerry Mental Health and Well-being Fest is held annually to highlight World Mental Health Day October 10.

The organising committee is a collaboration between Connecting for Life Kerry, Healthy Kerry, Kerry County Council, the HSE, NEWKD, SKDP, Kerry Mental Health Association, Jigsaw Kerry, Munster Technological University/Kerry, and Kerry Volunteer Centre.

The Chair of the Steering Committee and Resource Officer for Suicide Prevention in Kerry, Donagh Hennebry, added that "wellbeing is when you’re feeling good and functioning well".

"Our event ambassadors know that it’s not just about being in good physical condition, but it crucially includes the state of your mental health. We are grateful to Monika Dukarska and Aileen Crowley for sharing their knowledge and experience with everyone involved in the 2021 Kerry Mental Health and Well-being Fest.”

Visit HealthyKerry.ie to see the full event schedule.
All events are free, registration is required for some activities and can be done by contacting the organiser directly or use the registration links provided in the brochure.