Through The Looking Glass Limerick Suicide Watch calendar 2022 is available now

Limerick Suicide Watch Calendar 2022 – The theme of this years calendar is ‘Through the Looking Glass’

Through The Looking Glass Limerick Suicide Watch calendar 2022 is available now

By I Love Limerick Correspondent Ann Mc Donald

The theme of this years calendar is ‘Through the Looking Glass,’ inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland books.

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Limerick lady Karen Ryan has another amazing fundraising calendar for the Limerick Suicide Watch.

While last years calendar showed that there’s strength in vulnerability and that communication is so important in battling our demons, this year’s calendar has gone down a different route.

“The calendar theme was chosen to tell the story of the way the pandemic affected us through art, colour, real bodies. Through the looking glass (the Lewis Carroll book) was published in 1871 and the phrase came to mean “the opposite of what is normal or expected”. The term “looking glass” or “glass” denoting a mirror or a shine.

That’s essentially how I viewed the pandemic. We fell down a rabbit hole through the unexpected, we experienced loss and confusion. We grieved for what we had lost, both people and our lifestyles. Through the looking glass, both a nod to the Alice in Wonderland story and a nod to the meaning of the phrase, there came a light. As we know, sunshine through a glass full of water gives us a rainbow, (a process known as refraction) and so that’s how our calendar moves,” Karen explained.

The Limerick Suicide Watch calendar 2022 begins with gray, denoting confusion and panic, and then moves to black to symbolise the loss and heaviness of the pandemic. It then moves to white, the prism which leads into a rainbow of people and colour, representing those deeply affected by the pandemic, the people that experienced the loss and who ultimately came together.

“After a tumultuous almost 2 years, we stand in the aftermath of a plague that ravaged our society. We suffered loss and confusion, loss of skills, we learned new skills, we coped, we didn’t. It was hard but ultimately, we got through it together. I wanted this year’s calendar to showcase that,” Karen said.

“The calendar is inclusive of bodies and genders. We are lined up in a rainbow, covered in art. We are telling the story of not only the pandemic but of the rainbow after the rain, the hope, the togetherness.”

The idea of the calendar came about last year when Karen decided to do something that would help raise funds for the Limerick Suicide Watch. With the help of her friends in the cabaret and modelling network, Karen decided to put together a raunchy 2021 calendar that she would then sell and have all the funds go to LSW.

Limerick Suicide Watch is a non-profit charity whose focus is to keep eyes on the River Shannon to identify and provide support to those in distress who may be contemplating suicide.

The group solely rely on donations from the public and fundraising to fund uniforms, jackets, PFDs and any other essential gear.

When speaking about the motivation behind the calendar Karen said, “I adore Limerick City, but the rate of suicide here is very high, every time we hear the helicopter, we shudder, and we bless ourselves. We now associate the river with death. I know we have a lot of very helpful crisis centres and helplines, but the fact remains that the bravest people are the beautiful souls who patrol our bridges at night, keeping watch for those in distress. LSW truly deserves all the fundraising they can get, and I only wish I could do more for them.”

The calendar is on sale for €15, with the option for people living in Limerick to get it hand delivered to avoid paying shipping costs. All proceeds from the calendar go towards Limerick Suicide Watch.

To buy the Limerick Suicide Watch calendar 2022 go HERE  

For more stories about the Limerick Suicide Watch go HERE 

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