Clare Echo

Students from Shannon College of Hotel Management and Brent Pope from Elephant in the Room, pictured alongside the donated ‘Elephant for Sarah’ in memory of Sarah O’Farrell in the college atrium. Photo: Tracy Hegarty/Emma Daly

AN artist-designed elephant sculpture has been installed at Shannon College of Hotel Management to encourage students to talk openly about their mental health.

The ‘Elephant for Sarah’ was officially unveiled at the college’s atrium by Brent Pope, co-founder of the Elephant in the Room initiative.

The international mental health initiative uses brightly painted, artist-designed elephant sculptures in public spaces to encourage conversations about mental wellbeing.

The sculpture was donated to Shannon College in memory of Sarah, the niece of Shannon College alumna Maeve O’Keeffe, who died by suicide following a struggle with her mental health.

Sarah’s sister, Anna O’Farrell, has been raising funds to create a small herd of Elephant in the Room sculptures in her sister’s memory.

More than €86,000 has been raised to date through the Elephant for Sarah initiative, with Shannon College among those to receive a sculpture.

Ms O’Farrell said the family chose Shannon College because they wanted students to feel able to seek help and speak openly about how they were feeling.

“We chose Shannon College because we want every student there to know that they can come and ask for help, and to be open about how they’re feeling rather than hide it,” she said.

“That’s exactly what Sarah would have wanted for others, because she felt she couldn’t do that herself.”

Mr Pope told students about the importance of normalising conversations around mental wellbeing and seeking support at an early stage.

“Everyone has an ‘Elephant in the Room’, and this initiative is about starting conversations early before they develop into larger issues impacting students’ wellbeing,” he said.

“It’s also about encouraging kindness – we never know what someone else might be going through in their day or life.”

Mr Pope said many young people only seek mental wellbeing support when they reach crisis point, making early intervention important.

“We need to normalise discussions around mental wellbeing and make it a daily priority, just like physical health,” he said.

He said the initiative aimed to give young people better tools to navigate life’s challenges while fostering a culture of inclusion and care.

Mr Pope also thanked Ms O’Farrell for donating the sculpture to the college in memory of her sister.

Orla Cullinane, Associate Head of Student Welfare at Shannon College of Hotel Management, said the college was “delighted and very honoured” to be involved in the initiative.

She said the elephant would serve as a visible reminder that conversations about mental health “should never be hidden or avoided”.

“As a college community, we recognise and sadly have experience of the profound impact of suicide and loss,” she said.

Ms Cullinane said the college was committed to fostering an inclusive and compassionate environment where students feel supported and able to speak openly without fear of judgement.

“We hope this initiative encourages our students and staff to check in with one another, seek support when needed, and keep the conversation going,” she said.

Elephant in the Room was founded by Mr Pope and Eoin Byrne in 2021 and has since grown from a grassroots initiative into an international movement.

The sculptures are placed in prominent locations as symbols of hope, support and care, with the aim of letting people know they are in an environment where mental wellbeing is supported and that it is okay to talk.

Ms O’Keeffe graduated from Shannon College in 1991, while her daughter Molly Wallace has recently started her fourth year at the college.