An Irish suicide prevention and bereavement charity has seen its UK service going from strength to strength, following the donation of counselling rooms by the family of the former Welsh soccer manager, Gary Speed.

Console was established in Ireland in 2002. It offers support to those in suicidal crisis and those bereaved by suicide via a number of ways, including a helpline and professional counselling services.

The charity has also been working to establish itself in London for the last two years. It was asked to set up in the UK due to the absence of any comparable service there.

"Following keynote speeches at suicide prevention and bereavement seminars in the UK, Console was approached by individual representatives from the health services, the Metropolitan Police, church groups and voluntary agencies and asked to consider extending what was a unique service from Ireland to the UK," explained Console chief executive, Paul Kelly.

A range of free counselling and support services are now available in both Ireland and the UK for those affected by suicide.

Now, the family of Gary Speed, who died by suicide in November 2011 at the age of 42, has donated counselling rooms, which were unveiled at Console's UK launch at the House of Lords. They will be located in one of Console's new centres in central London.

Console already has big links to sport - it trains professional sports teams on an ongoing basis using a tailored three-hour training programme that has the potential to save lives in the sporting and wider community.

The rooms have been financed with the help of Mr Speed's sporting friends, such as Alan Shearer, Michael Owen and Gordon Strachan, who took part in a series of charity golfing events.

Speaking about the rooms, Mr Speed's mother, Carol, said that they are a fitting tribute to her son.

"If the Gary Speed Rooms help one person in mental health crisis, then that will be a success. It is a terrible thing to feel in trouble, and people need to know that they have somewhere to turn to. We haven't got any answers about Gary's death, and we probably never will, but as a family we know that Console are always there and only a phone call away," she commented.

For more information on Console in Ireland, click here
For more information on Console in the UK, click here