On Episode 61 I am delighted to be joined by former Dublin Minor hurling goalkeeper Cormac Ryan. Weeks after playing in an All Ireland Final Cormac was diagnosed with a heart condition and had a pacemaker inserted at 18 years of age which turned his life upside down.

Cormac took a year out of college and returned to the U21 County Set up as the substitute goalkeeper however had begun to suffer with his mental health. This went on for many years under the surface and Cormac describes how the GAA culture negatively attributed to this.

Cormac had plans to cycle across the United States in 2020 in aid of Pieta House and BodyWhys, while the cycle was postponed due to the pandemic Cormac’s mental health deteriorated and he sought help in the Summer of 2021. Cormac agreed to take part in the RTE documentary Unspoken to help others in his situation. Cormac attended a private clinic and over 8 weeks and following his treatment he began cycling from to Athens with two friends, just under 5000km raising €48,015. Cormac has now raised over €100,000 for charity.

The RTE documentary, Unspoken, detailed the eating disorder crisis in Irish men and the lack of public health services opened the nation’s eyes to the issues that currently persist for the nation’s health services and the lack of resources allocated to the mental health sector. Watch here https://www.rte.ie/player/movie/unspoken-e1/242007592177 

If you are affected by anything discussed in the episode please reach out to someone you trust or contact the following services

Body why’s - (01) 2107906 Eating Disorder Association of Ireland

Pieta House - 1800 247 247

Samaritans - 116 123

Childline 1800 66 66 66

Find Cormac here:

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/cormacryann/

Twitter https://twitter.com/CormacRyan01

Check out the brand new website thesidelinelive.com

Make sure to subscribe for future episodes and find us over on Instagram and Twitter @thesidelinelive

Recorded using Samson Q2 microphone

Edited using GarageBand

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