ICS grant for our counselling services
(L-R) Mary Quinn, Head of Service Operations, Irish Cancer Society; Orla Gillespie, CEO of Mayo Cancer Support Association; and Edel Shovlin, Acting CEO, Irish Cancer Society. Photo credit: Andres Poveda Photography.
The Irish Cancer Society and Mayo Cancer Support Association have partnered to provide 283 free counselling sessions across Mayo in 2025.
The Irish Cancer Society presented €17,000 to Mayo Cancer Support Centre, to part-fund the delivery of its free counselling services in 2025. These free services can be availed of by cancer patients, survivors and their family members as well as those bereaved by cancer.
In addition to free counselling, Mayo Cancer Support Centre also provides complementary therapies, group activities, cancer support groups, survivorship programmes, nutrition advice, and children’s services to include play therapy and creative psychotherapy.
The Irish Cancer Society provides free remote counselling across the country, and by partnering with a network of 24 local cancer support centres, funding is provided to deliver free in-person counselling at a community level. In 2025, the Irish Cancer Society’s free nationwide counselling service provided almost 13,000 sessions through cancer support centres across the country.
Mary Quinn, Head of Service Operations at the Irish Cancer Society says:
“1 in 2 of us will receive a cancer diagnosis in our lifetime, and when we do, we deserve the best possible support to help us process and come to terms with our diagnosis. On top of the physical impact of cancer treatment, we know the emotional and psychological toll cancer can take on patients and their loved ones during and beyond their diagnosis.
“Providing free counselling to patients, survivors and their family members is a crucial service for those affected by cancer. We are delighted to partner with Mayo Cancer Support Centre to help deliver these services in Mayo. As well as offering our own remote counselling services, through our 24 local cancer support centre partners, the Irish Cancer Society funds vital free counselling services on the ground across Ireland. We simply can’t be there for those patients and families without the generosity and support of the Irish public. Every €60 we can raise is a free counselling session for a patient or their loved one. Every euro of your support will help make a difference. That’s why we’re asking for your support his Daffodil Day, Friday 20th March.”
Orla Gillespie, CEO, Mayo Cancer Support Association says:
“We are very grateful to receive funding from the Irish Cancer Society to help provide our vital counselling service to people who have been impacted by cancer. We delivered 319 free counselling sessions to people impacted by cancer in 2025 and 283 of these were funded by the grant from the Irish Cancer Society. We are dependent on fundraising to cover up to 50% of our annual operating costs and we thank the Irish Cancer Society and the people of Mayo too for their ongoing generosity in supporting the delivery of all the services we provide.”
To continue to provide these counselling sessions, donations can be made to Mayo Cancer Support Association via www.mayocancersupport.ie or to the Irish Cancer Society at cancer.ie.
For confidential advice, support and information on cancer, contact Mayo Cancer Support Association on 0949038407/email info@mayocancersupport.ie or the Irish Cancer Society Support Line on Freephone 1800 200 700.