A Lust for Life won the hugely coveted Social Entrepreneurs Ireland Impact award on 12th October 2016. I was honoured when they chose me as their First Follower for "guiding them through some critical junctures when they really needed support in the early days".
Here is a testimonial written by A Lust for Life Co-Founders Niall Breslin (Bressie) & Susan Quirke on my close involvement with them since October 2015:
"Dr. Malie Coyne, Clinical Psychologist based in Galway was A Lust for Life's first follower. Although Malie followed our vision, passion and drive to create real change, we followed her profound capacity to humanise and communicate psychology in a way that is highly professional and yet penetrates the heart, which she always does with such grace. Malie also shares our passion for a new Ireland, an Ireland that puts the wellbeing of its people first. She has guided us through some tough periods at critical junctures when we were met with waves of darkness, struggle and pain from people contacting us looking for help, and she helped us embrace the light together. Activism and social entrepreneurship can sometimes be an incredibly lonely and frightening place, words that often reverberate on those evenings when you feel suffocated by your own fears, concerns, thoughts, and demons while recognising the needs and struggles of others. Malie has made this a far less lonely road for us all at A Lust for Life at times when we needed to hear it and allowed us recognise the impact of our work which we sometimes lose sight of".
For more information on Bressie's reaction to winning the award see the following article: http://www.alustforlife.com/mental-health/well-being/a-year-in-the-life
Here also is a video clip of Bressie's acceptance speech on the night: https://youtu.be/0KwSyrAlrzM