Jack McGrath.

Rugby players discuss mental health

The Irish Rugby Union Players’ Association (IRUPA) in partnership with Zurich will host a free mental wellbeing panel discussion as part of its ‘Tackle Your Feelings’ campaign at Lansdowne Rugby Football Club, on Wednesday 12th October from 6.30pm – 8.30pm.

The panel will feature former Ireland & Leinster Rugby Player, Shane Jennings, who recently came forward to talk about the anxiety and sense of uncertainty he felt as he faced retirement from his rugby career with Ireland and Leinster. Ireland and Leinster Prop and ‘Tackle Your Feelings’ Ambassador, Jack McGrath, will also be there to tell his own personal story about the impact of his brother’s death by suicide. The panel will also feature Irish International, Hannah Tyrrell who has spoken candidly about her struggle with self-harm and bulimia. The ambassadors will be joined on the panel by Munster and Ireland rugby legend, Marcus Horan, who will MC the event. Dr Eddie Murphy, Clinical Psychologist and Tackle Your Feelings advisor will add to the discussion by providing practical advice as to how attendees can proactively manage their mental wellbeing.

Shane will speak about the anxiety and uncertainty he felt as he faced his retirement from professional rugby and the steps he took to overcome those challenging emotions, “When I faced retirement from professional rugby I felt a lot of apprehension and uncertainty. I had been very proactive about preparing for life after rugby throughout my career, completing an MBA and making use of the career and educational supports available through IRUPA. Even so, I still didn’t really know what to expect and found all the emotions around that quite challenging to deal with. Once I opened up and spoke to my wife and my family about how I felt, I found that it was easier to navigate my way through the transition. Ultimately it was a combination of planning ahead, controlling what I could control and opening up about my feelings that made the whole process that bit easier to deal with.”

Jack will speak about the anger and anxiety he felt and how he kept his feelings bottled up at first, “It was like a gas valve releasing when I started to speak about how I felt. It can be the smallest thing that you say to somebody that can make you feel better. The longer you keep it bottled up, the worse it is going to get. Nobody is going to slag you for feeling a certain way. It is human nature. After what happened to my brother I think it’s really important to be open about mental health.”

Hannah is hoping that her story will give other people the strength to positively deal with their struggles, 'I got involved in the tackle your feelings campaign because I have struggled with my mental health in the past. I want people to realise that they are not alone feeling this way and that things can and will get better. I wanted to share my story in order to help make it easier for others who are struggling to reach out and ask for help and if even one person does so as a result of this then it will have all been worthwhile.'

Omar Hassanein, CEO, IRUPA, said, “Following the great response to the launch of the initial Tackle Your Feelings Ambassador videos and website last March, both IRUPA and Zurich are delighted to be able to bring the campaign to life within the Leinster community. These panel discussions are a fantastic opportunity to start a conversation around mental wellbeing and we encourage all who attend the Leinster panel to join in the discussion on the night.”
Elaine Hayes, who is driving Zurich's Corporate Responsibility agenda in Ireland said: 'Zurich are pleased to work in partnership with IRUPA on the Tackle Your Feelings campaign, which encourages people in Ireland to continually build their mental resilience and understand the importance of wellbeing. It is great to see so many high profile rugby players from all four provinces highlighting their own challenges and experiences to a national audience. We believe this will have a positive impact in tackling the stigma related to talking about mental health challenges'

As part of the ‘Tackle Your Feelings’ campaign Connacht flanker and ‘Tackle Your Feelings’ Ambassador, Jake Heenan, recently came forward to tell his own personal story of becoming homeless as a teenager and about how the frustration and uncertainty he experienced as a teen ultimately led him to anti-social behaviour. All the players’ videos are available on the website www.tackleyourfeelings.com

‘Tackle Your Feelings’ is an all island mental wellbeing campaign which sees national and international rugby stars come forward to tell their own personal story of the issues they have faced off the pitch. The event is free to attend and to secure a place simply register on https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/tackle-your-feelings-leinster-panel-discussion-tickets-28287764465.