'In her honour': Tipp woman to fulfil dream of being a dancer after losing mam to suicide

A Tipperary influencer who set up a GoFundMe to help support her dream of being a dancer after losing her mother to suicide has expressed her shock and gratitude at the response to the fundraiser. 

In November 2024, Kirsty Keating lost her mam to suicide and a few months later tried to take her own life.

Three days later, while feeling as though she had nothing to lose, the 24-year-old decided to post a vlog on her TikTok and it blew up.

From there, she continued to post 'Day in the Life' vlogs about living with the bereavement of her mother. 

"Within the first few weeks, I had an amazing community of people online who are also dealing with suicide bereavement, parental bereavement, all forms of mental health issues, sobriety, addiction, just all real taboo topics," Kirsty said. 

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She had struggled with substance abuse in the months that followed her mother's death and spoke openly about that on her social media, which she believes is the reason so many people gravitated towards her online. 

Many of her followers encouraged her to set up a GoFundMe, but it wasn't something Kirsty felt compelled to do until she received an email from her college stating that if she wanted to return for her final year, she had to pay €2,000 in fees. 

"I just decided to do what I preach and ask for help. Also, I just needed to take a step back and realise that I need to accept the help as well," she explained.

The fundraiser was set up on Wednesday, January 21st with a goal of €3,000, and within 24 hours had raised €10,000.

Kirsty believes a lot of that is thanks to influencer Roz Purcell, whom she had reached out to to share her story. 

Roz and Kirsty are both from Clonmel, so Kirsty messaged her to let her know she thought it was inspiring to see someone else from a small town do so well, despite not knowing whether Roz would even see her message.

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Roz did see the message though and sheshared the GoFundMe to her Instagram story for her 600,000 followers to see, as well as donating €500.

"I think a lot of people really like her as a person and trust her as an online creator. When they saw her story sharing my story, immediately there was just a massive income of 5ers, 10ers, 20s, and obviously that all added up," Kirsty said. 

She needed €2,000 for college fees but set the goal at €3,000 so that if she got over the €2,000 mark, Kirsty could use the extra money to support her younger sibling, get an ADHD diagnosis for herself, pay for therapy and mental health treatments, and pay for the transport to and from college. 

At the time of writing, the GoFundMe has over €21,000, with Kirsty saying, it's been "the biggest blessing ever." 

Now that she can fulfil her dream of being a dancer, Kirsty feels as though she is honouring her mam.

Kirsty has been dancing since she was four-years-old and watching her dance was her mother's "favourite thing ever." 

"She loves that I was a dancer. She loves that it was my passion and she always encouraged me so much. I feel like the best thing I can do in her honour is to live out my dreams and just to go for what I want to go for for the rest of my life," Kirsty said.

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The last time they spoke, Kirtsy's mam held her hands while looking her in the eyes and told her "keep moving." 

That is now something that Kirsty lives by.

"No matter what happened, no matter what day you've had, no matter what's going on, you need to keep moving. You always need to keep moving, but that doesn't mean it's easy," she said.

Dealing with the loss of her mother has been extremely difficult, yet social media has helped Kirsty process her grief and realise she is not alone in it. 

Being herself and opening up online has allowed her to create a wonderful online community that have been a great support.

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"I feel very grateful that one of the gifts my mom instilled in me was authenticity and vulnerability and to always just be really true to myself. One minute I'll be dancing, one minute I'll be saying something funny, and then the next minute I'm crying on the floor," Kirsty said about her social media channels.

Connecting with people online has made Kirsty realise that she is not alone, as when her mam first passed away, she didn't know anybody else who had experienced bereavement because of a parental suicide.

"There is a comfort in knowing that we're not the only one experiencing it, because grief can be so isolating. When you're in the thick of it, you do feel like you're the only person experiencing that level of pain.You feel like it's never going to end, and it'll never get better. That's why I share things so openly," she explained.

To follow along on Kirsty's journey, you can follow her on social media @kirsty.keating on Instagram and TikTok, and to donate to her GoFundMe, click the link here.