DUBLIN U21 star Shane Carthy has spoken out about depression after it was announced that he was suffering from the illness last May.
Speaking on the RTÉ Radio One show, Today with Sean O’Rourke, Carthy recalled how the illness put his promising career with the Dublin U21 side on hold, only shortly after they had won the Leinster title, during which he had produced a man-of-the-match display.
“It was building up for the last couple of years,” he said. “It got worse and worse in the six months previous to the Leinster final. I was diagnosed with depression just after.
“It was kind of like putting up a mask not only to my teammates but also to my family and friends. It was constant. But inside, there was something wrong. The last six months were particularly difficult, I had thoughts of ending my life. It was getting that hard — it was a very scary thing and something I didn’t think would come into my head. That caused my anxiety to build up. It just slowly deteriorated.
“I wanted a distraction every day, going to training and going to college was a good distraction for myself. It was only when I went home and went to bed, it was the worst time.”
Carthy described how he had often considered speaking out about his depression in previous months, before he eventually suffered a panic attack.
“My mam’s mum and dad passed away early February. I was planning on saying something but I felt it would be a bit of a burden with eveything going on.
“I’m very close with my three sisters. I went over to visit one of them in Sweden and was hoping I would say something, but that didn’t materialise. I came back and had an All-Ireland semi-final to look forward to. I had a panic attack in training, which brought me to St Pat’s hospital.
“It was after training. We were going out to Castleknock hotel. My dad knew what was happening with myself. He didn’t want me on my own. From all the anxiety over the last couple of years and months, I just felt a massive surge and I just went completely blank. Next thing you know, I was in St Pat’s.”
Carthy expressed gratitude for the support he has been shown in the months since the news broke and says he is now “doing okay”. He also had words for those who may be suffering from similar problems.
“If you are struggling, you’re not alone and it’s definitely not a sign of weakness to say you are struggling. With the stigma attached to it, a lot of people think they are alone and in my personal opinion, it takes strength and courage to show you are struggling. If you’ve a broken leg, you go to the hospital and get that fixed, and if you’ve a broken mind, you get that fixed.
“I was in hospital for two months. I got out in the middle of June, I had a couple of weeks to myself and eventually went back to work and joined up with the senior panel and they were hugely supportive. I’ve started doing sports science in DCU and we’ve got a hectic schedule coming up [with Dublin].
(Mayo’s Robbie Hennelly has spoken of the difficulty of re-adjusting to normal life once the GAA season ends)
“I’ve taken a step back. I would’ve thought Gaelic was everything, but now I appreciate family and friends and the simple things. It’s not everything.”
Speaking on the same show, Mayo GAA star Rob Hennelly described the difficulty in adjusting back to normal life once the GAA season ends.
“It’s more a loss of routine. You lose this kind of support group you had. Bar a What’sApp group, you’re barely in contact with [other players], whereas before, you put your life on hold because you have this big game coming up.”
Meanwhile, ex-Leitrim player and current Community and Health Manager for the GAA, Colin Regan, spoke of how the bravery of players such as Carthy in speaking out has encouraged others to seek help too.
“When ambassadors like Shane speak about their own experiences with mental health or depression, we would see a spike in contact at Croke Park usually from concerned family members and usually female family members, because in Ireland, women tend to be the guardian of men’s health, which is something we have to look at as well. But it opens up an enormous conversation about mental health.”
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If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article, please contact one of the following helplines:
- Samaritans 116123 or email jo@samaritans.org
- Teen-Line Ireland 1800 833 634
- Console 1800 247 247
- Aware 1890 303 302
- Pieta House 01 601 0000 or email mary@pieta.ie
- Childline 1800 66 66 66
