S'port for Grief
Support directory
Trusted grief and bereavement support in Ireland and the UK — organised for coaches, young people, and parents in a sporting context.
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Grief & bereavement support directory
A signposted shelf of trusted bereavement services in Ireland and the UK, organised for the people most likely to need them in a sporting context: coaches and committees, bereaved young people, and parents.
Urgent help — any time, day or night
If you or a young person needs support right now, these free services are open to everyone — coaches, parents, and young people alike. You do not have to be in crisis to call.
Pieta — suicide & self-harm crisis (24/7)
1800 247 247 · or text HELP to 51444. IE
Samaritans — emotional support (24/7)
116 123. IE UK
Childline (ISPCC) — under 18s (24/7)
1800 66 66 66 · or text 50101. IE
Not sure where to start for ongoing support? The Irish Hospice Foundation Bereavement Support Line on 1800 80 70 77 (Mon–Fri, 10am–1pm) is a good first call.
Start here
Who is this for?
Coaches & club committees
A death in the club, a bereaved player, or a teammate returning to training.
View guidance →Young people
Someone close to you has died. You don't have to talk to anyone in your club to get help.
View support →Parents & guardians
Your child is bereaved, or a child on your child's team has been.
View support →For coaches & club committees
You are not expected to be a counsellor. Your job is to make the club a safer environment for a grieving young person and to know who to point them — and their family — toward.
Coaching a player through grief over weeks and months
Grief does not arrive once and leave. Anniversaries, fixtures the deceased played in, championship runs and end-of-season events are all live moments. The resources below are the best general-purpose guidance available — read them before you need them.
- •Child Bereavement UK — guidance for adults supporting young people: childbereavementuk.org. Includes free training and a section noting that sports coaches are among the trusted adults in a bereaved child's life. UK
- •England Football Learning — How to support a player with a bereavement: learn.englandfootball.com. UK
- •Winston's Wish — Essential Guidance for Supporting a Bereaved Child: winstonswish.org. UK
- •UK Trauma Council — Traumatic Bereavement Support Plan: uktraumacouncil.org. Written for schools, but the protocols translate directly to a club context. UK
If a young person is becoming a risk to themselves
Bereavement can mask, or trigger, mental health crisis. If you are seeing signs that go beyond grief — withdrawal that is deepening, talk of self-harm, talk of not wanting to be here — escalate. Tell the parents. Use a specialist line. Do not try to manage this alone.
- •Pieta — Suicide crisis 24/7: 1800 247 247 or text HELP to 51444. IE
- •Jigsaw — Youth mental health (ages 12–25): 1800 544 729, jigsaw.ie. IE
- •Samaritans: 116 123 (free, 24/7, Ireland & UK). IE UK
- •Childline (ISPCC) — under 18s: 1800 66 66 66, or text 50101. IE
For young people
Someone you love has died, or is dying. There is no right way to feel and no timetable for any of this. The resources below were built by, and for, young people — you don't need a parent or coach with you to use them.
If you need to talk to someone today
- •Childline — under 18s, 24/7: 1800 66 66 66, text 50101, or chat at childline.ie. IE
- •Jigsaw — text support (ages 12–25): text HELLO to 50808, or live chat at jigsaw.ie. IE
- •Winston's Wish helpline (under 25): 08088 020 021, or text/WhatsApp 07418 341 800, 8am–8pm Mon–Fri. UK
- •Hope Again (Cruse) — 11+: 0808 808 1677. UK
Places built by young people, for young people
Movement helps. Walking, running, lifting, kicking a ball against a wall, swimming — there is real evidence behind why these things take the edge off grief. They are not a replacement for talking to someone, but they are a legitimate part of how you get through this.
- •Talk Grief (Winston's Wish): winstonswish.org — youth-built platform with grief toolkits, videos, and downloadable activities. UK
- •Hope Again: hopeagain.org.uk — stories from other bereaved young people, advice on self-care. UK
- •Grief Encounter — Grief Relief Kit: griefencounter.org.uk — workbook and journal-style resources. UK
- •spunout.ie — Mental health and bereavement articles: spunout.ie. IE
If you are thinking about ending your life or hurting yourself
This is the most important thing on this page. You are not a burden for telling someone. Tell anyone — a parent, a friend's parent, a teacher, a coach, a doctor, the helplines below. You do not have to be in a final crisis to call them.
For parents & guardians
Whether it is your own child who is bereaved, or one of their teammates, the way the adults around the team respond shapes whether a young person stays connected to the club through grief — or drifts out of sport entirely.
If your child has been bereaved
You do not need to have the right words. Showing up, naming the person who died, and keeping ordinary routines available — including training, if they want it — is more useful than any single conversation. The services below are free, specialist, and used to first-time callers.
- •Irish Hospice Foundation — Bereavement Support Line: 1800 80 70 77 (Mon–Fri, 10am–1pm). IE
- •Barnardos Children's Bereavement Service: 01 473 2110, plus free downloadable booklets at barnardos.ie/resources/bereavement. IE
- •Anam Cara — for bereaved parents (when a child has died): 085 2888 888, anamcara.ie. IE
- •Irish Childhood Bereavement Network: childhoodbereavement.ie — local services directory. IE
Another child on the team has been bereaved — what now?
You and the other parents on the team are the network that decides whether the bereaved child stays in the club. Practical, low-pressure offers (the lift to training, the place at the dinner table, the casual text) usually matter more than grand gestures. Ask the coach what the family has said about training, and follow their lead.
- •Child Bereavement UK — supporting bereaved families: childbereavementuk.org. UK
- •Winston's Wish — for parents and carers: winstonswish.org/supporting-you. UK
- •The Good Grief Trust — find local support: thegoodgrieftrust.org. UK
If your child's mental health is deteriorating
Reach out earlier than you think you need to. The teenage mental-health services in Ireland have wait lists; getting in the queue early is part of caring for your child.
- •Jigsaw — youth mental health (12–25): 1800 544 729, jigsaw.ie. IE
- •Pieta — 24/7 suicide crisis support: 1800 247 247. IE
- •HSE — talk to your GP about a referral to CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services).
- •Parentline: 1890 927 277 — support for parents under pressure. IE
Everything in one place
Full directory of organisations
Search by name, or filter by who a service is for. Every organisation referenced above is listed here.
No services match your search. Try a different word or clear the filters.
Anam Cara
IEPeer support for bereaved parents and siblings, all-Ireland.
Barnardos Children's Bereavement Service
IECounselling, support, and free booklets for bereaved children and families.
Childline (ISPCC)
IE24/7 support for under-18s by phone, text, and chat.
Child Bereavement UK
UKSupport and free training for adults supporting bereaved children and young people.
Cruse Bereavement Support
UKUK national bereavement charity; runs Hope Again for young people.
Grief Encounter
UKCounselling and resources (Grief Relief Kit, workbooks) for bereaved children and young people.
Hope Again (Cruse)
UKBy-young-people-for-young-people platform, 11+.
Irish Childhood Bereavement Network
IENational hub: standards, practitioner directory, and the Childhood Bereavement Care Pyramid.
Irish Hospice Foundation
IEBereavement Support Line, training for schools and organisations, the Bereavement & Loss Hub.
Jigsaw
IENational Centre for Youth Mental Health, ages 12–25; free therapy and online support.
Pieta
IEFree 24/7 support for suicide, self-harm, and bereavement by suicide.
Samaritans
24/7 free emotional support across Ireland and the UK.
spunout.ie
IEYouth information service with mental health and bereavement articles for ages 16–25.
The Good Grief Trust
UKHub connecting bereaved people with local support across the UK.
UK Trauma Council
UKTraumatic bereavement guidance, including school/college support plans translatable to clubs.
Winston's Wish
UKBereavement support for ages 25 and under, plus the Talk Grief youth platform.
What this directory is, and what it isn't
S'port for Grief is not a counselling or therapeutic service. We do not provide clinical mental health support, and nothing on this page is a substitute for speaking to a GP, a qualified counsellor, or the specialist services we link to.
Our role is to make Irish sports clubs and the families in them safer, more supportive environments for grief, and to be a clear front door to the specialist organisations who do the clinical work. If you are not sure where to start, the Irish Hospice Foundation Bereavement Support Line on 1800 80 70 77 is the right first call.
All listings are checked at every review. If something here is wrong — a number changed, an organisation no longer operating, a link broken — please contact us and we will correct it in the next review.
Grief-aware clubs across Ireland
The Club Aware Map
We're building a map of clubs across Ireland that are grief-aware or working with S'port for Grief. See who's on the map and find out how your club can join.
Boundaries of our support
Safeguarding & what we are here for
We are a sport-based support, not a clinical service
S'port for Grief is not an emergency, counselling, therapy, or clinical service. We want to be really clear about that, because knowing our boundaries keeps everyone safe and helps us do what we do well.
What we focus on:
When someone needs clinical or crisis support, the most caring thing we can do is connect them with the specialist services who are trained for it — which is exactly what our support directory is for.