Mental health charity to close shop in Clonakilty

MENTAL health charity Lisheens House is to close its second-hand furniture shop in Clonakilty at the end of May to focus on its core services, such as counselling.

Founder of the charity Noreen Murphy confirmed the shop on McCurtain Hill will close with the loss of around six jobs. She said the ‘difficult decision’ was made as part of a review of their services and to make operations more manageable for herself and her sons who work with her.

The closure of operations in Clonakilty will mean the loss of around six workers between shop staff and van drivers. The shop in Skibbereen will remain open, along with services such as its helpline and counselling, Noreen stressed.

‘Delivering those services remains our priority,’ she said.

Noreen founded the suicide prevention charity in the wake of her husband’s suicide in 2007. Her business and life partner Mick Kearns had worked alongside her in the charity for seven years until his sudden death in 2023.

‘Not having Mick by my side is a huge blow, personally and professionally. I still haven’t recovered from his death,’ she said.

‘Lisheens House doesn’t get any State funding and there’s a lot of pressure every week,’ she said, admitting that she had considered closing the charity in the wake of Mick’s death, but that her sons Tony (31) and James (28) wanted to continue.

‘Closing the shop in Clonakilty was a difficult decision to make, and we didn’t make it overnight – Mick has been gone a year and a bit now.

‘I took stock of my life and feel we can do the same work with less overheads and going back to basics with one shop in Skibbereen, and still serving all of West Cork,’ she said.

‘There’s as a big a demand on our services as ever and, as always, we rely on fundraising which we’re very grateful for.’