Carrick-on-Suir student spearheads campaign to steer teens away from alcohol and drugs abuse

A Carrick-on-Suir student is spearheading a new campaign that is organising a series of substance misuse education and awareness workshops in the town’s secondary schools and community.

Finn McLoughlin, a 16-year-old Transition Year student at Carrick’s Comeragh College Community School, has set up the Stay Connected campaign to help steer teenagers in his hometown away from abusing alcohol, drugs and cigarettes.

He won Carrick-on-Suir Lions Club’s Young Ambassador of the 21st Century final at the end of 2024 for his proposal to set up this campaign. In January, he represented the club in the national final of the competition that recognises young people who make a positive contribution to their community.

Finn is now rolling out the Stay Connected project with Carrick-on-Suir Lions Club’s support and in collaboration with the South East Drug and Alcohol Taskforce.

Linda Fahy of the Tudor Artisan Hub, where Finn did TY work experience recently, has also been mentoring him through each stage of getting the project up and running.

He was inspired to set up Stay Connected by his cousin Conor Harris, a 25-year-old footballer from county Kildare, who has recovered from a harrowing drug addiction that he suffered in his late teens.

Conor, who is now drug free five years, will host the upcoming series of workshops.

He runs a programme called The Other Side of Life through which he has inspiring given talks at more than 50 schools and GAA clubs throughout Ireland. In the talks, Conor shares his experience of addiction and journey of recovery to educate young people.

The first of the workshops about empowering young people to live a happy life without substance misuse will take place at Comeragh College and Edmund Rice Secondary School in Carrick on Monday, April 7.

Two further workshops will be delivered at Scoil Mhuire Secondary School in Carrick and St Declan’s Community School in Kilmacthomas in county Waterford on Tuesday, April 8.

Carrick Lions Club Young Ambassador Award Coordinator Shirley O’Shea, a teacher at St Declan’s, reached out to the secondary schools and all were delighted to get involved in the initiative.

After the school workshops, Conor Harris will deliver a substance misuse education and awareness workshop for the wider community in the Carraig Hotel in Carrick on Tuesday, April 8 at 7pm.

Finn will speak at the event about the Staying Connected project.

The workshop will be supported by the South East Drug and Alcohol Taskforce team, who will be available at the event to offer advice and support on all aspects of addiction.

As well as empowering teenagers not to succumb to substance misuse, Finn says he wants to lessen the stigma around addiction so that young people can seek the support services available if they need them.

“My project is about helping young people realise that not only is it common and dangerous for us to become addicted but there are so many ways to get help.”

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