Cavan goalie features in TV3’s Mental Health Special
Patrice Brady
Cavan goalie Alan O’Mara will speak candidly about his battle with depression on a TV3 programme dealing with mental health this evening. The Cavan GAA Star is one of many Irish people in the public eye to speak out about their experiences with mental illness on the half hour special show ‘Time To Talk’.
Interviewed by Sinead Desmond, O’ Mara discusses how depression made him question everything.
“You start to question your existence, why am I here? Is this what my life is all about? Is this what I’m going to do? This voice is building in your head and this just kept snowballing up until Christmas with me until the day I was driving home.
“I’m driving along the motorway and I have an image of me just swerving the car into the wall, this just pops into my head.
“There’s a slip road off, and you know there’s a barrier there which breaks up the junction, I just see the car just slam straight into that.”
Alan added that the only thought that spared him was his parents.
The programme will hopefully show those who are dealing with depression that there is hope. As Alan said: “I’m only 22 years of age but that dark spell has taught me so much about myself. What’s very easy to forget though is that I have also felt happy during most of those stages too.”
The show comes in the wake of the tragic death last week of Galway senior hurler Niall Donoghue, who died days before his 23rd birthday.
According to national statistics nearly 300,000 people in Ireland suffer from depression, and the illness hospitalises 10,000 people every year. One in four people will suffer from mental health problems at some stage in their life. However, despite the fact that these illnesses are common in Ireland, people experiencing them can often find themselves facing stigma and discrimination.
The Cavan goalie, also spoke of how the Gaelic Player Association’s counselling service has been beneficial for him.
The programme airs tonight at 7.30pm on TV3 and features other well known faces such as author, Marian Keyes, rugby analyst, Brent Pope and DJ, Nikki Hayes, all sharing their experiences with mental illness.