An awards ceremony recognising the achievements of schools – North and South – was held during the first term at the Department of Education and Skills by Cycle Against Suicide. At the special reception, St. Michael’s was awarded the status of ‘Ambassador School‘ by Cycle Against Suicide, in recognition of the exceptional commitment in the promotion of positive mental health and the efforts to break the cycle of suicide in their own community.

St. Michael’s  was represented at the event by the Link teachers Jacinta Joyce and Anne-Lisa Rogers and by students Deirdre O’Brien and Alison Stapleton. Representatives of the main Education Bodies, the Education Trusts and the Institute of Guidance Counsellors along with celebrity ambassadors for Cycle Against Suicide Alan O’ Mara and Seamus Hennessey, were also in attendance to show their support. 

The year-long schools’ programme which required schools to fulfill five success criteria was first launched at the Cycle Against Suicide Student Leaders’ Congress in January 2014. This event was attended by 4000 students and 130 schools and was the first of its kind, youth mental health congress in the RDS.