GAA members in Co Derry will gather this weekend to raise cash for three charities dedicated to preventing suicide.
The fundraiser was organised in the wake of the deaths of two popular figures in Bellaghy.
Gerard McClafferty (40) died in August last year while father-of three Ryan McGuckin (26) died by suicide in October 2010.
Organisers hope the event will raise awareness of the issue as well as cash for suicide prevention charities PIPS, The Niamh Louise Foundation and the STEPS Foundation.
The event has been organised after it emerged that 318 suicides were registered across the north last year - the highest annual death toll since records began in 1970.
An over 35’s seven-a-side football competition involving clubs from across counties Derry and Antrim will form the centrepiece of the free family fun day which will be held at the grounds of Bellaghy Wolf Tones today.
Several former Derry stars are expected to take part in the competition.
Mr McClafferty’s wife Finvola said the fun day was the idea of the father-of-two’s sister Coleen O’Boyle.
She said that the families of both men were keen to highlight the fact that there is help for people contemplating taking their own lives.
“People don’t know where to turn,” she said.
“We found that Gerard had nowhere to go, he didn’t know who to go to and there was support there for him.
"We are trying to prevent somebody else from doing the same thing.
“We have been through it and lived it and we don’t want anyone else to go through it.”
Ms McClafferty said her GAA club has provided massive support to her family since Gerard died.
“The Bellaghy community has been great and we could not have done without them over the last year,” she said.
“If it wasn’t for the Bellaghy club I don’t know where we would have been.”
Along with the fun day a series of events have been organised including a raffle and auction.
Items up for grabs include a signed Celtic football, a pair of boxing gloves donated by Carl Frampton and memorabilia donated by former champion jockey Tony McCoy.
Music and entertainment will also be provided on evening.
