Breaking the silence

Breaking the silence

At 6am every Wednesday morning, while most of Cavan is still asleep, Gabriel Higgins (right) is helping men “drop the body armour”.

Founder of the Ballyjamesuff chapter of When No One’s Watching (WNOW), a men’s mental health initiative that combines light exercise with conversation, connection and support, for Gabriel, giving of his time is simple: “I want to have a positive impact where my children are growing up.”

Originally from Drumlish in Longford, the married father-of-three established the group after following the work of the Australian-founded movement created by David Eccles and Kerry football legend Tadhg Kennelly. But for Gabriel, the mission is deeply personal.

He lost his father Jim to suicide at just 13 years of age.

“Over the last 10 years I’ve always wanted to do something positive in his memory,” Gabriel explains. “You can’t prevent every tragedy, but you can create something positive in the hope it might encourage men to talk more openly about things that are personal to them.”

Each Wednesday, men from the area gather for 40 minutes of exercise before sitting down for tea, coffee and conversation. There’s no pressure, no formal structure and most importantly, no expectation to share more than they want to.

“Some mornings lads might talk about football, some mornings somebody might open up about a difficult week,” Gabriel said. “It’s about creating a relaxed environment where conversations can happen naturally.”

He says the greatest reward has been seeing reluctant men grow in confidence.

“We’ve had men who had never set foot in a gym before coming every week now,” he said. “Even small things - just showing up - can make a real difference.”