A charity football tournament held in memory of a young man who sadly died suddenly in 2021 is raising vital funds for Action Mental Health while aiming to tackle the stigma surrounding mental health and to encourage anyone who is struggling, to seek help.
The Ciarán Crawford Cup 2024 will take place on New Year’s Eve – Ciarán’s birthday – from 9am until 3pm at the Colin Glen football grounds on Blacks Road.
Ciarán Crawford, from South Belfast, was 20 years old when he passed away in hospital in September 2021. Speaking to Belfast Live, Ciaran's friend Ruairi McDonnell said that he was "very lovable" and an "unbelievable sportsman".
"Myself and Ciarán lived beside each other for years and we both ended up going to Our Lady and St Patrick's, Knock where we became really close," he said.
"Ciarán was very chatty and everybody liked him. He had this rare sort of thing where any sport he played, he excelled at.
"When we were younger, he was big into his Judo and he would have competed in All-Irelands and won All Irelands. Then he got into hurling where he played for St Brigids before he moved to Rossa where he was their captain."
After Ciarán's death, Ruairi and a group of their friends got together and decided that they had to do something to not only remember Ciarán but to allow them to come to terms with what happened.
"Ciarán was a big soccer man and we thought that we would organise a soccer tournament. When the idea started out, we thought we would just play against his university mates and then people started to hear about it so we thought we would do four teams and so a bit of a blitz.
"We decided to hold it on 31st December which is his birthday and we extended it out to 12 teams, now were at 16 teams
"We reached out to people from different parts of his life - lads from his judo club, lads from school, his hurling club and the local area because we wanted to keep it personal to him and keep his memory alive."
When the tournament started, the guys asked for a donation of £10 per player and set up a fundraising page in the hope of raising a few hundred pounds for a mental health charity. Since then, the friends have raised around £30,000 for PIPS, Papyrus and this year the money raised will go to Action Mental Health.
"Without getting too sentimental, it keeps his name and his face out there," Ruairi said.
"Its nice to hear his name being said constantly and it is something that he would have loved himself."
Arran Pettifer and Taylor Steven from Cliftonville FC joined Ciarán’s friends to launch the event last week.
Action Mental Health’s Head of Communications and Fundraising, Jonathan Smyth, said: “We’d like to thank Ciarán’s friends for selecting us as their charity for the football tournament this year. Every penny raised will go towards supporting local people struggling with their mental health, helping them access the vital services they need.
“We’d like to wish everyone taking part in the Ciarán Crawford Cup 2024 the very best of luck on New Year’s Eve and extend our gratitude to all those who have and continue to donate to the event. This time of year can be particularly difficult for many people, but we would like to remind people that help is available and that, if you or someone you know is in crisis or distress, Lifeline can be contacted 24/7 on 0808 808 8000.”
Northern Ireland has some of the highest rates of suicide in the UK and Ireland, with males being particularly at risk. Statistics from NISRA (2023) show that there were 203 suicide deaths registered in 2022 in Northern Ireland and that, of these, 156 (76.8%) were males.
To donate to the fundraiser in Ciarán's memory, click here.
For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.
English (United States) ·