The death by suicide of Galway hurler Niall Donohue was a trigger for a trebling of the number of players accessing a confidential counselling service operated by the Gaelic Players Association in 2013. 94 players had done so up to the end of October.
The service provides a dedicated members telephone line, one to one counselling and residential treatment for players who are suffering from depression, addiction or other form of distress in their lives.
Depression accounted for 33 of the cases presented during the year with Gambling addiction at 22 and alcohol addiction at 8 also showing substantial increases on 2012.
The service has played a key role in helping to remove the stigma which previously surrounded men’s mental health issues in particular.
This is a role in which sport has an important part to play as it can often be the one area of authority in a young person’s life where there is less emotional complication than through family, and less of a job impact than through school, college or employment.
The service which can be accessed by Freephone in the Republic of Ireland on 1800 201 346 and from Northern Ireland on 0808 234 5183 will be available throughout the Christmas holidays including on Christmas Day.
“We have published this short review of our Mental Health Programme today firstly to highlight the increase in the level of engagement from county players with this service and secondly to draw attention to the availability of the nationwide service over Christmas, a period which can sometimes prove difficult for those in distress,” said GPA Chief Executive Dessie Farrell.
“We also want to indicate our intention to establish a specific campaign in 2014 aimed at encouraging players to engage with our mental health program and services with a focus on changing the culture within our membership.”
“The death by suicide of Galway’s Niall Donohue has sharpened the focus on our challenge. We know we must redouble our efforts to make sure that the young men in society struggling with distress are encouraged to engage with support, that we hear the call and recognise the signs of their distress.”
