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AFTER losing his father to suicide in 2015, Gary O’Dowd is determined to turn his grief into something positive, with the hope that it may help others. The Bearded Man’s Battle for Suicide Prevention campaign was born when Gary started growing his beard to honour his father, who always sported some form of facial hair.

The charity fundraiser event set for July 16, in Jack Duggan’s Bar, Castlemaine, at 8pm, is a “shave or grow” event. It was launched with the help of Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae last Friday.

The public will decide whether Gary should shave his beard off, or keep it for another year. Should they vote to keep the beard, Gary will shave his hair off instead. With local music, DJ, spot prizes and the chance for you to nominate your friends to get waxed, it’s sure to be a great night.

The Bearded Man campaign has raised over €500 so far online and the Facebook page has reached over a thousand likes in just one month. Through JustGiving, a fundraising website, supporters can donate any amount which goes directly to the charities involved. Link: https://www.justgiving.com/teams/thebeardedman.

A text campaign was also recently launched with Deputy Michael Healy-Rae coming on board to show his support. Supporters can Text SWCC to 50300 to donate €4. (*Text costs €4. SouthWest Counselling Centre will receive a minimum of €3.25) All money raised will be divided amongst Console and Kerry LifeLine.
Just one year after the death of Gary’s dad, Maurice O’Dowd, the Bearded Man campaign was established.
With a goal of raising awareness and as much money possible, Gary decided to raise money for two charities which helped him and his family greatly after Maurice’s tragic death. Console and Kerry LifeLine/SouthWest Counselling Centre, Killarney, both offered a huge amount of support to the O’Dowd family and Gary wanted to show his appreciation to them by creating this event to raise some much-needed money and awareness of suicide prevention, support and for those also bereaved of affected by suicide in some way.

Gary has used social media to get his message across for far. On Facebook, Gary has uploaded multiple diary-entry style posts where he goes in to detail about the campaign, his father, and how losing his father as affected his life.

He also filmed a vlog where he explained his grief and what he hopes to get from the campaign. Gary’s overall motto is that he wants to help both charities as much as he can, so that they can continue helping others.
Just Giving: https://www.justgiving.com/teams/thebeardedman
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/garythebeardedman/
Text: SWCC to 50300 to Donate €4.  

 
Deputy Michael Healy-Rae helps Gary O’Dowd launch the Bearded Man text campaign.