Carthy: I owe Dessie Farrell my life
January 30, 2021
Dublin footballer Shane Carthy made an appearance on the Late Late Show to talk about his experiences with mental health.
Dublin footballer Shane Carthy says he owes Sky Blues boss Dessie Farrell his life.
In an interview on the Late Late Show last night, Carthy talked honestly and bravely about his mental health struggles ahead of the release of his new book 'Dark Blue' on Monday. An All-Ireland SFC winner at the age of 18 in 2013, the Naomh Mearnog player revealed how he had been experiencing suicidal thoughts but was helped out of the darkness by Farrell, his U21 manager at the time.
"To be honest I owe Dessie my life," he told presenter Ryan Tubridy. "I confided in him because Dessie had previous with depression and he's also a previous psychiatric nurse so I had trust in him.
"I met him out in Santry for coffee and people were having their breakfast, their morning coffee and I was in a flood of tears. I was embarrassed. I was in a packed coffee shop for 45 to 50 minutes and I was in tears.
"For the five minutes I did get to speak to Dessie I let him in on what was going on for me for the previous two years. He promised me that I'd get the help that I so deeply needed. He set me up with an appointment with a psychologist just two days later."
'I owe Dessie my life'
— RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) January 29, 2021
Dublin footballer Shane Carthy speaks on the #LateLate about his struggles with mental health issues #RTEGAA pic.twitter.com/UJinjcOeGY
Eleven long, and difficult, weeks spent at St Patrick's University Hospital set Carthy on the road to recovery.
"I was facing up to things that I'd put away for far too long, that brought me to the point of suicidal ideation. It was hugely difficult talking to psychologists, doctors, nurses, and unearthing these things that had clouded me for so long."
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