Urlaur student in the running to become the face of ireland

MAYO student Sarah Grennan is hoping to become the new Face of Ireland. The 20-year-old childhood care and education student from Urlaur is one of 19 young ladies across the country hoping to be crowned the Face of Ireland.

Sarah raised over €400 for the GRASP Life Foundation as part of her campaign by hosting a cake sale and Bokwa fitness demonstration in Urlaur Community Centre last weekend. The GRASP Life foundation stands for Greater Responsibility and Awareness for Suicide Prevention and was set up by Mary McTernan, whose only son, Gary, died by suicide at the age of 24. It is based in the northwest region, with centres in Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal, and Enniscrone.

Sarah also organised an information stand in her college, Sligo IT, showcasing information about those feeling depressed or suicidal. “I made my own leaflets to hand out to people and gave out free fruit to just lure people over. It went really well – loads of people were so interested,” she explained. “No one had heard about this charity before, not even myself, before I got involved but I found that people were very interested in it and in the topic of suicide prevention.”

One of 19 finalists from an entry of 35,000, Sarah said: “I was so shocked when I got the email about it. It was ages ago and I’d kind of forgot I’d done it but then I got an email to go for an interview. I wasn’t expecting it.”

The competition final is in Dublin on October 26, where the Face of Ireland 2014 will be selected by a judging panel.