Breaking the silence: Tyrone men share stories on mental health

On International Men’s Mental Health Day last Wednesday, an emotional and inspiring event held in Canavan’s Bar saw men from across Tyrone share their life experiences and mental health journeys.

The panel, hosted by Ronan Boyle, featured six speakers, including Tyrone GAA legend Peter Canavan, who delivered a moving account of how the sudden death of teammate Cormac McAnallen in 2004 deeply affected the Tyrone team.

Addressing a crowd of over 100 supporters, Mr Canavan opened up about the profound grief experienced by the team and the journey they undertook to move forward.

“If you talk to any of those lads now that played on the minor team, it’s still very raw for them,” Mr Canavan said. “A lot of them probably didn’t speak about it.”

Recalling the days following McAnallen’s passing, Mr Canavan described a team meeting held at Podge Quinn’s. “Nobody wanted to train or play football. It felt meaningless,” he shared.

In that meeting, the players were given space to talk openly, and support was made available for those who needed it.

The turning point came when teammate Kevin Hughes, who had suffered his own personal losses with the deaths of his sister and brother, stepped up and addressed the group.

“Kevin put up his hand and said, ‘Of course we’re going to go back to training and do what we do best,’” Mr Canavan recounted. “That set the tone then for everyone to realise he was right.”

The event also featured stories from other speakers, including Andy Patton, who shared his journey from a traumatic childhood to a career in professional football and community work, and Petey McGinn, who overcame addiction through rehabilitation and a newfound passion for running.

Mr Patton spoke of losing his father at a young age and the hardships that followed, while Mr McGinn detailed his battle with alcohol and gambling addiction, finding a turning point in his life through running and family support.

“At eight years of age my father had a bad accident, and he had a broken heel that never healed,” began Mr Patton.

“I remember on a Sunday night my brother and I argued about who would change the bandage like usual, but we didn’t know what was going to happen after it.”

“I changed the bandage, and my brother rolled it up before we went to bed.”

Mr Patton continued, “That night, my father died, and I witnessed it. But that part is blocked out of my memory.”

“The next day an aunt came in to our house and lifted me out of bed,” he said.

“She took me to another room, where my father was laid out in a coffin, and she forced me to touch his corpse.

“It traumatised me, right through my years,” Mr Patton added.

During his time at St Colman’s school in Strabane, a teacher took a shine to his academic and sporting ability, sending him off to Derry to begin a soon-to-be flourishing career in football.

“To cut a long story short, I ended up in England in 1973 playing football. I came back to Derry for a while before going back across the water to play with Aston Villa.”

“I came back and settled down and by 1982 I ended up on the peace lines in Belfast working with young people during the height of the Troubles. Two years later I got my youth qualifications and started working in Sion Mills.”

“Later I started forming committees and fundraising for youths,” said Andy.

For his community work, Andy was invited to Buckingham Palace, where he collected stones for his mother’s grave, adding, “Look mum, did you ever think I would ever be at something like this?”

Meanwhile, Killyclogher man Mr McGinn has turned ‘rehab into running’. He said, “This time two years ago I was in rehab at Northlands in Derry for alcohol and gambling problems. It’s been a long road, very tough mentally.

“The actual rehab itself was tough emotionally, a lot of work went into group and family counselling and there was a lot of effects from the programme.

“I had finished the programme but around six weeks later I relapsed and got back into old habits. All of my drinking was in house, night-time drinking behind closed doors and no-one knew bar my wife and kids.”

He added, “I just couldn’t see a way out. When I went back to rehab it wasn’t by my own choice, as we know men don’t admit their problems – I didn’t want to admit my problems.”

“Once my workday ended I couldn’t go past a shop without going in and getting a crate of beer.

“It just snowballed and I had no control of my life.”

The turning point came when Mr McGinn decided to take up running, a decision sparked by the upcoming Omagh Half Marathon and involvement with the Run for Enda charity. This new focus helped him regain control of his life.

The Killyclogher man and his family entered a lottery for the Dublin Marathon and, to their surprise, all won places.

“Recently, I completed my first marathon in three hours and 34 minutes,” he shared proudly.

Reflecting on his transformation, Petey said, “I have never been as happy as I am now.”

The night finished with words from Donal Rowan, who encouraged local men to get involved in groups within the community and to end the stigma of men talking about their mental health.