John McKeon

John McKeon is the founder and CEO of Kyrie Farm – the first of a new network of therapeutic farms, modelling a transformative approach to mental health care in Ireland.

He is a Social Entrepreneur with 30 years global corporate experience, who is now translating his business skills to the world of mental health care.

John’s son Kieran died by suicide in 2013, and it shattered the lives of John, his wife Vicky and Kieran’s brothers, Michael and Rory. Out of that tragedy came a wish to save lives so that other families would not suffer as they had. One year after Kieran died, John visited Gould Farm in the States, and saw first hand how living in community and having access to structured, meaningful support can improve outcomes for people living with mental health challenges. The seed of Kyrie Farm was born.

The Kyrie Therapeutic Farm was incorporated as a company, with the aim of creating a healing environment combining a supportive community, therapeutic and holistic care and meaningful opportunities for participating in a natural farm setting in Ireland. The farm itself is viewed as a healing ingredient with the natural environment, a sense of community and healthy food all playing a central role. The core philosophy of the farm is shaped by a number of important considerations including being trauma informed and recovery focused, and is inspired by therapeutic communities and models such as Open Dialogue. The therapeutic input, both group and individual, is delivered by a variety of professional groups including psychologists, social workers, social careers, peer support workers, psychotherapists and counsellors.

The Kyrie Farm team will work closely with mental health services in Ireland, and be bringing to life some of the principles in Irelands Mental Health Strategies ‘Vision for Change’ and ‘Sharing the Vision’.