Community, Conversation, and Support for Irish Men in Sydney.
Sunday 30th October, 10am - 1pm
October is Mental Health Awareness Month
The ISA Health & Wellbeing group invite you to our second Shoulder to Shoulder event for the Irish Australian Male Community. After the huge success and incredible feedback that we received from our event in February 2022, we are back with more unbelievable and thought-provoking stories from men in our community. Shoulder to Shoulder aims to provide a safe space where men are asked to listen and choose to share if they wish. There is no pressure and no judgment; just a feel-good and educational environment to dip your toe into.
Highlights include
Working smarter not harder for your financial well-being.
Real stories of building resilience during challenging times.
Find out how to help a mate who’s not feeling so great.
Plus much much more.
We will be joined by Ronan MacDomhnaill, Ciaran Gribbins, Ciaran Davis, Tom Spillane, Johnny Klusch, Barry Carey, Keith Donnelly and Fergal Hestor.
About our contributors
Ronan Mac Domhnaill
Ronan brings over 20 years of experience and expertise from the sports, technology, education, engineering, communications and National Governing Body fields. Originally from a technology background, he became a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the Neuroleadership Institute in 2015. Ronan is the founder of Cred., who work at the intersection of technology and education. Cred. specialises in helping individuals and organisations create behaviour change for good. Their work focuses in the areas of mental health and social impact. Originally from Dublin, Ronan moved to Sydney in 1999, where he lives with his wife, Niamh and their three young children, Alannah, Daire and Oscar.
Ciaran Gribbin
Ciaran was born in Castledawson, parish of Bellaghy Co Derry and was brought up in a loving family in an area of Ulster that saw much violence during the troubles.
He has been a musician since the age of 11 and has never looked back. He is a Grammy nominated songwriter, and has written movie scores soundtracks.
He has toured Europe, South America and Aus /NZ as the singer of INXS.
He is still a touring musician and music producer, whilst running 2 businesses, Rock and Roll Team Building delivering events all over the world and Mental Health business Vibrate Your Mind that focuses on music in the workplace as a tool to help with mental health.
Tom Spillane
Tom hails from West Kerry, more recently of Kogarah. Approaching 12 years in Sydney, Tom wears two work hats at the moment: one in construction and one in counselling. Tom’s mental health journey began tentatively in his teens, but has really taken shape here in Sydney, and continues to this day. He is delighted to currently be working with the ISA’s SOLAS programme, providing mental health support to the Irish community. He loves meditation, ocean swimming and barefoot walks in the woods.
Ciaran Davis
Ciaran, originally from Wicklow, is a financial planner, with over 20 years experience in the financial services industry. Ciaran is passionate about helping others with their financial wellbeing, and believes that managing our finances can lead to an increased overall sense of mental wellbeing. Ciaran has hosted a number of webinars for the Irish Support Agency on financial wellbeing topics such as budgeting, saving, planning for the future and protecting yourself.
Keith Donnelly
Keith is a highly experienced nursing manager with a demonstrated history of working in the hospital & health care industry, with a focus on mental health nursing. Keith is also the founder of the wonderful charity, Keith’s Closet.
Keith's Closet is a voluntary support clothing initiative for mental health clients in Prince of Wales Hospital inpatients and community settings.
“The one thing that always struck me was our vulnerable client's lack of self-care, dignity and purpose. A lot of our mental health patients have insufficient clothing so my purpose was to change that by transforming our seclusion room into a walk-in wardrobe complete with a fitting room in a very relaxed environment,” Keith
Johnny Klusch
Johnny, originally from County Cavan, is a registered provisional psychologist and personal trainer. Johnny, is a founding member of How’s the Head, a men’s mental health weekly catch up group. Johnny is doing great things in the Irish community and we are also delighted to have him as a committed volunteer of the Irish Support Agency.