Armagh GAA legend Ronan Clarke opens up on overcoming his battle against depression
Armagh legend Ronan Clarke has opened up about winning his battle against depression.
The former All-Ireland winner and two-times All-Star suffered the illness after missing seasons with an Achilles injury at the height of his career.
And he chose TG4’s Laochra Gael programme to open up about his mental health struggles in the hope it could aid others.
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Clarke, 42, said: “It just doesn't go away, it's a day-to-day thing, you just have to keep working on it, and use different coping mechanisms.
“Exercise is one of the things so I do a lot of swimming, take the weight off the joints.
“I'm not on medication anymore for it, I just try to keep myself healthy and keep myself as active as possible.
“There were dark days (following his achilles injuries) where I was lying up for three months, with a plastic parasol on and I couldn't move.
“I'd be one of those people who did not ask for help, who did not ring someone to go to the shop for me.
“And that was mentally draining for me. But I just learned from those days, and hopefully other people take it on board, and learn from it also.
“Hopefully, they will hear my story, learn from that and they can go and ask for help. That stigma was there with mental health at that time, and I was talking to plenty of people at that time but they more or less frowned upon it.
“But now, it's more or less out in the open and a lot of people have come out about it and it does exist among us all. Hopefully, it just carries some people through.”
In the programme, which airs this Sunday on TG4, Clarke spoke about how the diagnosis of depression in 2007 took a lot of pressure off him.
He explains: “At that time, I came out and said about it, and I just felt a whole weight off my shoulders. Especially for Dr Frances O’Hagan, who helped me a lot through that time.
“I went on medication for a while but after I weaned myself off it, I noticed things like exercise and eating right would help me.
“I talked to my father about it, too. He knew there was something wrong. He was a rock for me at that stage too.”
Aside from the dark days, Clarke also had some great ones, the best coming in 2002 when Armagh won their first All-Ireland.
In addition there were Ulster title wins in 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008 as well as a National League.
He says: “I'm happy with what I achieved.
“People play football for a lifetime and it's not about individuals, individual awards. I got an All-Ireland, I got Ulster titles, I got leagues, and people go searching for that and even at the start of their careers, in the hope that they get something like that done, even one Ulster or a National League or an All-Ireland.
“I did that in such a short period of time, but I'm indebted to the people who played with me.
“All of that team - they'd always been highly motivated and coming into that culture, I knew we were going to succeed as a team.”
Now he is pleased to see the current batch succeed, too.
Clarke says: “Time moves on. New boys arrive. I’m thrilled these boys are getting their moment now, and I’m thrilled for Geezer (Kieran McGeeney), too. He was a great leader for us and it is brilliant to see him do so well.”
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