Samaritans supported 1,200 people at festivals last year

1,200 people attending festivals and events last year were supported by the Samaritans on location.

The volunteer-led organisation helped people cope with mental health, loneliness and isolation as part of its outreach work at live events in 2025.

The charity's festival team attended sporting, music and cultural events, like North West 200, Pride, Lisdoonvarna, the Fleadh, Electric Picnic and more recently the Ballinasloe Fair.

People attending larger events over a number of days can 'feel alone in the crowd' and the Samaritans say the team provides a "face-to-face listening service".

When the festival team celebrated 21 years in 2019, an estimated 25,000 men and women had been supported by volunteers.

Over 1,500 volunteers who are part of the wider organisation provided 70,000 hours of emotional support to people who sought help from the charity last year.

They answered almost 350,000 calls for help which was the equivalent of 1,000 calls a day according to its 2025 Impact Report, which has been published this morning.

Concerns raised by callers echoed many of those expressed to outreach teams at events, including mental health, loneliness and isolation.

Many people also raised family issues with volunteers.

Executive Director of Samaritans Ireland Sarah O'Toole said that behind each call, email, or conversation, someone is looking for a connection, often in their most difficult hour.

"It is thanks to the dedication of our amazing volunteers, staff, and supporters that we are always here to listen," she said.

Ms O'Toole also stressed the importance of young people knowing about the emotional supports available as festival season kicks off.

"We will be at several major events over the summer to support those struggling to cope," she said.

Last year the Samaritans opened its 25th site on the island of Ireland in Monaghan town.

It was also involved in the development of a toolkit published by the National Office of Suicide Prevention to create awareness and put preventative measures in place at locations where tragedies have occurred.

Most recent figures show 500 people died by suicide in 2022 (CSO). Over a third of all the men who died aged 20–24, were due to suicide that year, the highest rate of any male age cohort.