Mental health can be a difficult subject but Navan local, Fionn Murray insists on challenging its stigma, having recently launched his children’s storybook, ‘Louie & Frankie’, as part of an initiative to bolster awareness for mental health among children.

“As a kid growing up, I loved to draw, and I loved to read comic books,” he says.

“A huge inspiration for me were Marvel comics creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.”

The 21-year-old had attended secondary school at St Patrick’s Classical School, winning ‘Artist of the Year’ every year up until graduation. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I left, all I knew is that it would have something to do with drawing.”

Having graduated, he landed a role in character design at Futurum Kids, an animation studio in Ireland. There he was inspired to create his own characters. “I saw a need for change in how we deal with mental health, especially among children,” he explains.

“If grown-ups are scared of the word ‘mental health’, the kids must be terrified. I wanted to make the topic less scary by making the characters colourful and fun.” However it wasn’t until 2023 when he decided to start his own company, Louie & Frankie Productions. “I decided it was time to start working for myself.”

The storybook focuses on a group of friends who are each dealing with challenges that many people can relate to.

“I created Louie & Frankie to show children and young adults the importance of understanding, exploring, and expressing their emotions,” he says. “But these emotions aren’t permanent and there is no one way to manage and express how we feel.”

Fionn makes it clear that the book isn’t designed to be a quick fix. “Managing how we feel is a daily process, it can’t be solved overnight. But by learning to express these emotions in healthy, positive ways, we can take their power away.”

As Fionn explains, his intent for the story is to be used as a tool in approaching and dealing with these issues through love, communication and understanding.

“When all the emails have been read, when the phones stop ringing and when I’m long gone, I hope that these characters will continue to help children and families be a little bit kinder to themselves and those around them.”

Fionn goes on to say how kids nowadays have such a vast range of information available to them at any second. “I’d enter the class and see kids scrolling on their watches!” he says. “It all comes down to adapting with the times. This is still fairly new territory for everyone, so I think it’s important to stay open-minded and informed instead of pretending it doesn’t exist.”

He emphasises that while social media has its negative qualities, there’s plenty of positive ones too, especially when it comes to accessing information so long as its users are properly prepared. “We have to make sure that our teachers and parents are equipped with the necessary tools to help these kids as they navigate these new obstacles. It’s all about our attitude towards change and growth.”

Recently Louie & Frankie Productions has teamed up with Scoil Ultain Naofa Baile Ghib. Combining his dedication to promoting mental health and his love for art and storytelling, Fionn has delivered presentations to every class within the school. Students were able to understand the message behind ‘Louie & Frankie’ and the process of character design before creating their own characters based on their own personal superheroes.

“The children were delighted bringing home their own animated drawings,” says principal, Niamh Báille. These presentations were given to students from first class all the way to sixth. “The aim of these presentations is to show kids that as long as they have a dream, anything is possible,” says Fionn.

The Gibbstown primary school isn’t the only one looking to make healthier and more positive changes for the youth. CLG Bhulf Tón has become the first club to partner with an initiative like Louie & Frankie as part of their efforts in promoting a safe place for all its members and the community.

“The goal is for Louie & Frankie to become mental health ambassadors for primary schools all across Ireland,” says Fionn. “We’re taking the scariness away from the topic of mental health to encourage future generations to stand out and speak up.

“I want to lead by a good example as my generation and the generations to follow find our place in a world that is continuously evolving,” he adds. “Whether it’s with social media, artificial intelligence, pandemics or lockdowns, just when we think we have things figured out we get thrown another curve ball. So for me, I’d like Louie & Frankie, and what it represents, to remain a constant in all that uncertainty.”