Barry Cregg / SPORTSFILE
Barry Cregg / SPORTSFILE / SPORTSFILE
“IT WAS BUILDING up so much for years previous to that and unfortunately the five or six months before that, my thoughts were of ending my life really. That really didn’t help with going to school or football, I just had this constant dark shadow in my way.
“Football is maybe a distraction for me, nearly a good thing in a way, but it got to a point where I couldn’t function in everyday life. I just really had to say ‘look I need to sort the mental side of my world before everything else comes into play’.”
- Dublin footballer Shane Carthy.
********
Last May, the Dublin county board revealed that senior and U21 footballer Shane Carthy was receiving treatment for depression. Carthy was man-of-the-match when Dublin won the Leinster U21 football championship last April but after that his mental health battle emerged and he was in hospital until the middle of June.
The portents for him in 2015 are positive. Off the field, he is enrolled in his first year in DCU and is studying Sports Science. On the field, he has caught the eye with his displays for Jim Gavin’s Dublin senior team. Carthy impressed when Dublin won the O’Byrne Cup last month and then started midfield in last Sunday’s league opener against Cork.
Shane Carthy in action for Dublin against Cork last Sunday. Donall Farmer / INPHO
Donall Farmer / INPHO / INPHO
“I’m not all the way there but I’d like to think I’m in a much better place than this time last year, for example,” revealed Carthy, speaking to The42 at St Judes GAA club yesterday.
“I’m glad I spoke up and dealt with it and to be honest now I wish I had done it earlier because I’m along the recovery path and am nearly out the other side.”
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Carthy spoke about how he was ‘constantly putting up that mask’ when he didn’t disclose his difficulties to friends or family members.
“I would have been keeping it within myself, not only from my friends but from my family s well. So literally from when I got out of bed, it was constantly putting up that mask and it was very daunting every single day getting up and having to say ‘I’m okay’ and ‘everything’s fine’.
“Really inside when I had a few moments to myself, I was really crumbling and breaking down. I don’t know how I went through it for a couple of years but it got harder and harder as the thoughts got worse.”
Shane Carthy receiving the man-of-the-match award after last year's Leinster U21 final. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
After his problems were revealed, Carthy found his family support network to be invaluable. When the Dublin team, that the Naomh Mearnóg club man had been such an integral part of, claimed the All-Ireland U21 crown last May, he was in hospital but had the comfort of his family to rely on as he watched the game.
“I was actually in St Pat’s watching it with my mam and dad who have been fantastic. My sisters and everything, they all support me, they all came up and we watched the match there. It was difficult obviously sitting there watching all the lads that I wanted to do well.
“At the same time I wanted to be there helping them along the way. I just needed to get myself right before I could go back to any of that.”
‘Band Of Brothers’
The Dublin players didn’t forget his input. When captain Jack McCaffrey made his winning speech that day in Tullamore, he spoke of Dublin’s ‘band of brothers’ and the contribution made by those that were not present. Carthy can’t praise enough the friendship and maturity that his Dublin teammates have displayed.
“That’s just an example of how mature Jack is, not only him but all the lads. The support they showed, not only to myself but there were also other lads maybe having difficulties that weren’t so publicised.
“We knew were kind of a band of brothers. Anything that went on, we were there to support each other. The lads have been absolutely fantastic. Just small things like a pat on the back or saying ‘great to see you are back’, very mature.”
Jack McCaffrey lifts the All-Ireland U21 football trophy last May. Donall Farmer / INPHO
Donall Farmer / INPHO / INPHO
Being back in a team sporting environment has helped Carthy.
“I think the team sense, people can relate to what you’re going through, especially in Gaelic football. It’s just that constant communication between yourself and management and players and how they deal with, whether it’s work, college, training itself and every day life.
“Definitely for me, a big thing would be structure for my day. Not only for the mental side, but the physical side as well. I find when I do have some sort of structure, everything seems to got that bit smoother.
“I’ve less time on my own to be thinking to myself and especially being around the lads, it kind of gives you that little gee-up. It’s great to be amongst them.”
And Carthy hopes his experience can encourage others with similar mental health issues to seek help.
“The stigma attached to it, it is slowly breaking down but people are fighting to talk about mental health. I’d like to think I’d help along the way to break down that stigma. Things like the ‘Play in my Boots’ and ‘Walk in my Shoes’ from the Gaelic side of things coming from the GPA have been a massive help to not only sporting people, but people in everyday life to come out and talk if they’re having difficulties.
“The likes of Alan O’Mara and Conor Cusack are helping because like it or not, they’re icons to people around the country and only good can come from that.”
Conor Cusack speaking last year at the GAA's National Health & Well Being Seminar.
Carthy has plenty sporting commitments at present. Today the DCU Freshers team play UCC in the All-Ireland championship and he’s hoping to be involved with Dublin for Saturday night’s league showdown against Donegal. His final U21 football season with Dublin will commence next month but Carthy is managing the workload.
“Trying to juggle them all, it is balanced out a bit with the managers communicating so that I’m not overflogged. A player has to go out and perform, and at the moment it is working out.”
Shane Carthy was at yesterday's ESB FutureFit regional launch.
*************************
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article, please contact one of the following helplines:
Shane Carthy's depression battle - 'I just had this constant dark shadow in my way'
“IT WAS BUILDING up so much for years previous to that and unfortunately the five or six months before that, my thoughts were of ending my life really. That really didn’t help with going to school or football, I just had this constant dark shadow in my way.
“Football is maybe a distraction for me, nearly a good thing in a way, but it got to a point where I couldn’t function in everyday life. I just really had to say ‘look I need to sort the mental side of my world before everything else comes into play’.”
- Dublin footballer Shane Carthy.
********
Last May, the Dublin county board revealed that senior and U21 footballer Shane Carthy was receiving treatment for depression. Carthy was man-of-the-match when Dublin won the Leinster U21 football championship last April but after that his mental health battle emerged and he was in hospital until the middle of June.
The portents for him in 2015 are positive. Off the field, he is enrolled in his first year in DCU and is studying Sports Science. On the field, he has caught the eye with his displays for Jim Gavin’s Dublin senior team. Carthy impressed when Dublin won the O’Byrne Cup last month and then started midfield in last Sunday’s league opener against Cork.
“I’m not all the way there but I’d like to think I’m in a much better place than this time last year, for example,” revealed Carthy, speaking to The42 at St Judes GAA club yesterday.
Carthy spoke about how he was ‘constantly putting up that mask’ when he didn’t disclose his difficulties to friends or family members.
“I would have been keeping it within myself, not only from my friends but from my family s well. So literally from when I got out of bed, it was constantly putting up that mask and it was very daunting every single day getting up and having to say ‘I’m okay’ and ‘everything’s fine’.
“Really inside when I had a few moments to myself, I was really crumbling and breaking down. I don’t know how I went through it for a couple of years but it got harder and harder as the thoughts got worse.”
After his problems were revealed, Carthy found his family support network to be invaluable. When the Dublin team, that the Naomh Mearnóg club man had been such an integral part of, claimed the All-Ireland U21 crown last May, he was in hospital but had the comfort of his family to rely on as he watched the game.
“At the same time I wanted to be there helping them along the way. I just needed to get myself right before I could go back to any of that.”
‘Band Of Brothers’
The Dublin players didn’t forget his input. When captain Jack McCaffrey made his winning speech that day in Tullamore, he spoke of Dublin’s ‘band of brothers’ and the contribution made by those that were not present. Carthy can’t praise enough the friendship and maturity that his Dublin teammates have displayed.
“We knew were kind of a band of brothers. Anything that went on, we were there to support each other. The lads have been absolutely fantastic. Just small things like a pat on the back or saying ‘great to see you are back’, very mature.”
Being back in a team sporting environment has helped Carthy.
“I think the team sense, people can relate to what you’re going through, especially in Gaelic football. It’s just that constant communication between yourself and management and players and how they deal with, whether it’s work, college, training itself and every day life.
“Definitely for me, a big thing would be structure for my day. Not only for the mental side, but the physical side as well. I find when I do have some sort of structure, everything seems to got that bit smoother.
And Carthy hopes his experience can encourage others with similar mental health issues to seek help.
“The stigma attached to it, it is slowly breaking down but people are fighting to talk about mental health. I’d like to think I’d help along the way to break down that stigma. Things like the ‘Play in my Boots’ and ‘Walk in my Shoes’ from the Gaelic side of things coming from the GPA have been a massive help to not only sporting people, but people in everyday life to come out and talk if they’re having difficulties.
“The likes of Alan O’Mara and Conor Cusack are helping because like it or not, they’re icons to people around the country and only good can come from that.”
Carthy has plenty sporting commitments at present. Today the DCU Freshers team play UCC in the All-Ireland championship and he’s hoping to be involved with Dublin for Saturday night’s league showdown against Donegal. His final U21 football season with Dublin will commence next month but Carthy is managing the workload.
“Trying to juggle them all, it is balanced out a bit with the managers communicating so that I’m not overflogged. A player has to go out and perform, and at the moment it is working out.”
*************************
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article, please contact one of the following helplines:
Tackling mental health – ‘Shane Carthy was a winner last Thursday without stepping on a field’
Opinion: Have we reached the beginning of the end for mental health stigma?
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