No avoiding the elephant in the room with Luna around
Catherine Horan, Terry Platt, Jason Culleton, Lynette Madley and Dolores O'Neill from the Carlow Mental Health Association with Luna 'the elephant in the room' Photos: Paul Curran
LUNA, a brightly painted elephant sculpture symbolising mental health awareness, was unveiled on 10 October at an event in the Seven Oaks Hotel, Carlow.
The elephant is the initiative of the Carlow Mental Health Association and forms part of its series of events for the month-long Mensana Fest 2025. The presence of the 25kg fibreglass elephant painted by is Susie Kelly from Portlaoise is intended to start a conversation about the importance of mental health.
Former rugby player and mental health advocate Brent Pope founded the Elephant in the Room movement and numerous sculptures are now located in universities, schools, workplaces and public spaces around Ireland.
The association got 50 small businesses in Carlow, including newspaper, to sponsor Luna and become ambassadors for mental health. Each week, Luna will appear in a different sponsor’s premises, encouraging people who come across her to think about their own and others’ mental health in a similar way to their physical health.
Lynette Madley, chair of the association, said that the organisation thought it would “create a bigger platform of awareness if we got businesses involved”.
Carlow County Council has promised to permanently display Luna in the garda station community garden after her tour is finished. It will be a “focal point for the community and the public”, said Ms Madley.
Over 100 people attended the lively launch, including local councillors and ministers of state for mental health Mary Butler, minister of state Jennifer Murnane O’Connor and Catherine Callaghan TD.
Ms Butler spoke about the increase in funding for mental health announced in Budget 2026 and an
nounced that over 15,000 free counselling session would be provided to men every year, accessible through yourmentalhealth.ie/men.
Michael Quinn, managing director of Robert Quinn Ltd, unveiled Luna alongside Ms Butler. Mr Quinn told attendees that he, too, has an elephant moving between construction sites to encourage workers to open up about mental health difficulties.
