Laois farm charity to help children and young adults with grief

Embrace FARM is launching a variety of new support services specifically designed to help children and young adults who are processing loss and grief after a sudden death within a farm family.

Embrace FARM, which was founded and is headquartered in Laois, says the new services and resources will provide mental and emotional support for children and young people in farm families. It says the service has been specifically designed to reach rural farm families who might not have access to support due to limited local resources or geographical isolation within their communities.

Co-founder of Embrace FARM Norma Rohan, commented to the Leinster Express / Laois Live on the importance of the new programme.

“Over the last 12 years, the Embrace FARM team has encountered many farm families that have been impacted by sudden death. Through our work, we recognise the need to develop specific resources tailored to support children experiencing grief.

"We want them to know that they’re never walking this path alone and that there are a range of supports out there to help them at whatever stage of the grief journey they are at. We look forward to continuing this project by regularly updating the resource hub, adding new support services, and ensuring that no one in the farming community who has experienced a serious injury or sudden death feels alone on their journey,” she said.

A statement said the new services are tailored to meet individuals need and can include creative arts therapies such as play, art and dance, counselling, and equine-assisted learning. The charity says these supports are offered alongside yearly residential family retreats where farm families, including both parents and children, who have experienced the sudden death of a loved one come together. MORE BELOW PHOTO.

Embrace FARM Remembrance Service in Abbeyeix in 2025. Pic: Alf Harvey

In addition to the in-person supports, Embrace FARM says it has created a new digital resource hub on the Embrace FARM website which features blog posts written by professionals on a range of topics around grief, useful resources for younger children to explore their own emotions, and recommended books, podcasts and other media around grief that can help start the conversation around grief and loss.

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Embrace FARM is a not-for-profit organisation founded in 2014 by Shanahoe husband and wife, Brian and Norma Rohan, following the tragic loss of Brian’s father Liam, in a farming accident.

From the first annual Remembrance Service in Abbeyleix in 2014, the network has expanded nationwide and evolved its services to meet the needs of Irish farm families in the aftermath of a serious injury and sudden death.

The organisation has engaged more than 560 farm families in communities across the 32 counties with its comforting and supportive embrace along with practical support in the aftermath of a traumatic incident.