Tragic Athy musician to be remembered at "Buskathon" next month

By Kim O'Leary A talented musician from Athy who died tragically is set to be remembered at an all-day busking session next month, thanks to the efforts of his brother and other local musicians. Athy native Niall Dunne is a successful singer songwriter and following the tragic death of his older brother Ray Dunne, who released several albums and performed at Glastonbury, Niall is determined to remember his brother as well as removing the stigma of mental health. Niall is planning to host a musical event in collaboration with other local musicians celebrate Ray’s life through his beloved music and to also raise funds for AWARE.   The busking session will take place in Niall's home town of Athy, Co Kildare and 16 bands are set to head-line the event. Niall and his family were left devastated when popular dad-of-one Ray died on February 6, 2016 at the age of 34 after a short battle with depression. In a recent social media post, Niall explained that the idea for the "Remembering Ray Buskathon" was to pay tribute to Ray and to also help raise funds for the charity AWARE. In the post Niall explained: "Next month, on the week of his second anniversary, on the 9th of February, I will be hosting a Buskathon on Emily Square in Athy in Ray's memory. I will be out busking from 11am in the morning until 9pm that evening.. I want people to hear some of his songs through my voice and guitar playing. I will also be playing out songs from Ray's album 'Amidst bright shadows' throughout the day. I want people to come out and talk to me about mental health and depression. I want us to openly speak about this silent illness in the same way we openly speak about any other illness.” He added: “This is also a charity event, and so I want to raise as much money as possible for the amazing work done by AWARE. And finally, in Remembering Ray and raising awareness of mental health issues and depression I want our community to have a fun day out full of music and laughter. I often hear people say, 'It's OK to not be OK' but I hold a different view; it's NOT OK to not be OK. For the individual experiencing struggles, of course it's OK but for us as a society we must be more understanding and compassionate towards those with mental health issues.” A fundraising page has been set up ahead of the event which details their plans to pay tribute to Ray as well as to raise €5,000 for AWARE. The Remembering Ray Buskathon takes place in Athy’s Emily Square on Friday, February 9, from 11am to 9pm. To donate come along on the day or visit:  https://give.everydayhero.com/ie/remembering-ray-buskathon-in-aid-of-aware AWARE’s Lo Call helpline can be contacted at 1890 303302 Samaritans: Freephone -116 123; Text -087 2609090 (standard text rates apply); find your nearest branch on www.samaritans.org Pieta House-1800 247 247