A unique new calendar for one of the 061’s best loved Limerick charities

A NEW calendar will look ‘through the looking glass’ and raise money for one of Limerick’s best-loved charities.

For the second year in a row, artist and designer Karen Ryan has put together the ‘061 calendar’ for 2022, which will take on themes from the popular Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.

Like the themes in the age-defining piece, what features on Karen’s calendar is considered out of the ordinary, the opposite of what is expected.

The Caherdavin woman said this came about as a result of the last tumultuous 18 months which has seen the world slip in and out of lockdown, something she said “ravaged” our society.

She’s used painted body art on people to represent the confusion brought about by the pandemic.

“From the confusing grey to the grieving black and then the restrictions lifting in white to all the colours depicting everyone coming together and brighter times ahead. More fun, more colour,” said Karen.

The calendar, she added, is inclusive of all bodies and genders, with the overall photograph seeing participants lined up in a rainbow, to suggest lockdown emergency is the aftermath of rain.

Asked why she wanted to support Limerick Suicide Watch, which patrols the riverside at night-time and supports people in distress, she said:

“We have such a high rate of suicide in Ireland. Limerick has one of the highest rates in all of Ireland, and the Suicide Watch  do absolutely Trojan work.  Not enough money goes into mental health supports.”

“We don’t have proper mental health supports that we can access that won’t leave us on waiting lists for weeks on weeks and weeks at a time,” she added.

The calendar, which is available here, retails for €15 with every cent going to Suicide Watch.