Anthony Walsh is the co-author of ‘Ivan’s Travels’, with Lucy Costigan, published by Enlighten Publishing, 2025.  Anthony is the co-writer and presenter of the documentary film ‘Journey Through Glass’, (Irishimages.org/film) to be released in 2025. Anthony is also the co-author of ‘Understanding Suicide: Exposing the world of pain within the Suicide Box’ (Currach Press, 2015), with Lucy Costigan.

 

 ‘Understanding Suicide’ shines a light on the problem of suicide in our society. Analysing the social factors that enable and facilitate suicide, such as education, religion, the media, politics and the law, this book highlights suicide as a product of society’s structures. Looking to society, rather than the individual, for both cause and solution. Understanding Suicide presents a new perspective on solving the problem of suicide. Society’s structures foster unfairness and inequality and render some individual characteristics, skills and abilities more favourable than others. This results in the marginalisation of those who cannot effectively contribute to society’s structured needs. Personal accounts of people affected by suicide underline how external forces influence the direction of lives, and take suicide out of the realm of personal choice. Positive change requires a seismic shift involving changed attitudes, bottom-up community approaches and an acknowledgement of the unnecessary pain that society causes. We have a choice. If we remain as we are, then we must learn to live with suicide as a feature of our society. If, however, we accept and change deadly, socially determined journey that carries some of our beautiful citizens to suicide, we can bring notable change to those suffering overwhelming pain.

‘Ivan’s Travels’ is a journey through all 32 counties of Ireland, sharing our experiences of dog-friendly places along the way. Ivan, our fun-loving Border Collie, was rescued as a pup from the streets of Waterford. After finding our beautiful boy through HART in Cork, we’ve had many adventures together.

In 2017, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) updated its regulations to allow pets in food premises, as long as they were kept away from food preparation areas. This change encouraged more businesses to become dog inclusive. Over three years, we accompanied Ivan to cafes, restaurants, pubs, accommodations, visitor attractions, shops, markets, parks, walking trails, beaches, and special events all across Ireland.