Get free tickets for 'The Bounce of the Ball' next Thursday in Dublin

Pieta House announces 'The Bounce Of The Ball' - a free event in Dublin on Thursday 19th November to coincide with International Men's Day.

The event - hosted by JOE.ie editor Paddy McKenna - will take place in Blas Café at The Chocolate Factory on King's Inn Street between 7pm and 9pm.

Eoghan McDermott from 2FM, Dublin footballer Paul Flynn and Ireland rugby international Jack McGrath will be among the speakers.

Also standing up will be Joe Caslin, whose mural on George's Street so moved people in the run up to May's referendum on Marriage Equality, DJ Nikki Hayes, slam poet Ryan Mangan, President of the USI Kevin Donoghue and mental health activist Breifne Earley.

The guests will take the mic about how 'The Bounce Of The Ball' has either favoured or gone against them throughout their life and how they've navigated their way through the ups and the downs of life.

While 'The Bounce Of The Ball' is free with limited availability, you may wish to contribute a few quid to the fine work done by Pieta House while booking your tickets.

Jack McGrath

"How a ball bounces is a difficult thing to control, indeed the bounce of the ball can decide the outcome of the game," says Brian Higgins, CEO of Pieta House.

"What we can control requires intricate skill and experience, but so many factors, like the condition of the ground, speed of the ball and the angle of bounce can send it in unanticipated directions. That's where the team comes in, we don't play alone, in any team there are people around us who can catch the ball that may have passed through our hands.

"So too our lives are affected by "the bounce of the ball", the unanticipated life events that impact on us can bring us to despair and lead to self-harm and suicide. At Pieta House we are part of the team for thousands of people across Ireland, supporting them and their families to regain stability in their lives.

"Men are at greatest risk of suicide in Ireland today. Why? We don't fully know...but what we do know is that the traditional concepts of masculinity don't help, the individualistic cave man concepts of man as the strong one, the fighter, the hunter and the gatherer don't allow for perceived "weakness" and don't allow for that bad bounce of the ball.

"This event will explore how we can all support one another through all life's events, the good and the bad."