'Absolutely petrified' but Marguerite parachute jumps for charity

The married mother of three admits to being "absolutely petrified" when she and a friend, Rory Patterson, took the plunge on August 14 at The Wild Geese Club, Garvgh, in aid of P.I.P.S. - the Public Initiative for the Prevention of Suicide and Self-Harm.

It was bad enough for Marguerite knowing that she had to jump from several thousand feet up in the air (in tandem), but her fear of heights made it twenty times worse.

But it was something she was determined to do given that she lost a brother to suicide as well as another family member recently.

Marguerite, originally from Belfast has worked at Knocklayde House, Ballycastle, since 1996. The premises are run by Triangle and during Mental Health Awareness Week, Triangle took the decision to support P.I.P.S. by donating 1000 and encouraging their staff to do something for them as well.

"When I heard that Triangle were supporting P.I.P.S. I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to become involved. I had personal experience of suicide in the family when I lost my brother and the help and assistance we got from the organisation was great. I wanted to give something back," Marguerite told the Times.

Originally, Marguerite's husband, Francis, had agreed to join her, but a sense of reality set in when Marguerite thought about the consequences of something going wrong so her husband agreed not to participate.

"Rory Patterson stepped in and had only two weeks to raise his share of the money which he did and I'm very grateful to him," Marguerite said.

The pair raised 1100 which is no mean achievement and will help greatly in the work of P.I.P.S. who will soon change their name to 'Lighthouse - Beacon of Hope.'

Marguerite won't be doing any further parachute jumps, but says that Rory is going back for another sky dive in aid of Marie Curie.

Marguerite would like to thank everyone for their generous support and says she really appreciates the giviing nature of those who made donations.