The Níamh Louise Foundation: The Story Behind the Charity That Northern Ireland Needs to Know
Left to right: Grainne, Shauna, Jenny and Catherine McBennett at The Níamh Louise Foundation’s new premises, 4 Loy Street, Cookstown. Photo: JustMental.
Níamh Louise McKee was 15 years old when she died by suicide on 21st November 2005. She was a daughter, a sister, a best friend. She was funny, and particular about her things, and irreplaceable, in the way only the people we love most ever are.
In the weeks and months that followed, her family faced something too many families in Northern Ireland have experienced: a system with almost nothing to offer. No bereavement support tailored to suicide loss. No one who truly understood. A community that grieved alongside them, but often didn’t know what to say.
On 2nd February 2006, what would have been Níamh’s 16th birthday, her mum Catherine McBennett, her stepfather James, and Anne Donaghy OBE decided to do something about it. They founded The Níamh Louise Foundation.
Twenty years later, that Foundation is one of the most important grassroots mental health organisations in Northern Ireland. It has never received a penny of government funding.
THE JUSTMENTALTALK INTERVIEW
In the latest episode of JustMentalTalk, available now on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts, JustMentalTalk host Karl Bennett sat down at the Foundation’s new Cookstown premises with four of the people who lived this story: Catherine McBennett (Níamh’s mum), Shauna (Níamh’s sister), Grainne (Níamh’s school friend), and Jenny, a family friend who first came to the Foundation in crisis with her own daughter and who now works for the service.
The conversation is not polished or carefully managed. It is honest. Raw in places. Occasionally full of laughter. And it covers the things that too many mental health conversations still avoid: the warning signs that only made sense in hindsight; the stigma they faced from people who called Níamh selfish; the grief that doesn’t follow a timeline or a stage model; twenty years of government neglect toward mental health funding in Northern Ireland; and the small, ordinary moments, a Betty Boo pillow, a jacket in a shop window, that still carry the full weight of everything.
Four perspectives. One loss. No scripts. No sanitising.
WHAT THE NÍAMH LOUISE FOUNDATION DOES
The Níamh Louise Foundation provides free, one-to-one support for individuals across Northern Ireland experiencing emotional distress, suicidal thoughts, self-harm, anxiety, depression, low mood, or bereavement by suicide or sudden death.
Sessions are delivered by trained intervention workers in a safe, confidential space, focused on building trust, developing coping strategies, and helping individuals move towards recovery at their own pace. The Foundation recently relocated to new premises at 4 Loy Street, Cookstown, Co. Tyrone, expanding its reach across Mid Ulster and beyond.
In 2024 the Foundation handled an average of 14 new referrals per month from individuals in crisis, a figure that speaks both to the scale of need and to the trust the community has placed in this organisation over two decades.
HOW TO REACH THE FOUNDATION
📍 4 Loy Street, Cookstown, Co. Tyrone, BT80 8PE
📞 028 8775 3327 (Monday to Friday, 9am–5pm)
📧 info@niamhlouisefoundation.com
🌐 http://www.niamhlouisefoundation.com
📘 Facebook: Niamh Louise Foundation
📸 Instagram: @niamhlouisefoundation
HOW TO SUPPORT THE FOUNDATION
The Níamh Louise Foundation is entirely community-funded. To donate or set up a fundraiser in their support, search “Níamh Louise Foundation” on JustGiving.
WATCH & LISTEN
The full JustMentalTalk episode is available now. Watch on YouTube at youtube.com/@JustMental25, or listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, search JustMentalTalk.
If you or someone you know needs support right now:
📞 Lifeline NI: 0808 808 8000 (free, 24/7)
📞 Samaritans: 116 123 (free, 24/7)
💬 Text SHOUT to 85258
