Late Late Show viewers praise ‘brave’ Shane Carthy as Dublin star opens up to battle with depression

Viewers of the Late Late Show have praised ‘brave’ Dublin footballer Shane Carthy after he opened up about his battle with depression tonight.

The GAA star spoke about her mental health journey in recent years and how she got through her darkest days.

In describing her recovery, Carthy hopes she can use her platform to help reach out to others struggling with depression.

One viewer said: “Shane Carthy speaking with such courage and eloquence. Very admirable and a conversation about mental health that should start among the young men of this country.”

“Shane Carthy is a credit to Ireland. Hearing men talk about the silent battles and stigma is an incredible moment,” added another.

One said: “Shane Carthy on The Late Late Show now talking about his experience with depression, a talented athlete, telling his story, you should admire him. No one should suffer in silence.”

One viewer summed up: “Shane Carthy is such a brave young man.”

At 18, Carthy lived an ‘idyllic life’ from the outside looking in as she raised Sam Maguire with Dublin in 2013.

But the Portmarnock native has revealed his ‘terrifying’ mental health battle as he tried to make sense of what was going through his head as he battled depression from the fifth year of high school.

“It was a gradual process,” he told the Ryan Tubridy Show last August.

“I was so uneducated that I thought it was hormonal changes in my body from the beginning.

“It had only been a year and a half [suffering from depression] the alarm bells started ringing and I was like, ‘I need to talk here.

“It was getting so much worse that a week after the final in Ireland was the first time I thought about suicide.

“It was something I couldn’t understand. That was the frustration. I was living this idyllic life from the outside looking in. I was 18 years old and I represented Dublin’s senior footballers.

“I didn’t want any part of the world. That’s the internal dialogue I was having.

“I was thinking, ‘I am this man who lives this idyllic life at such a tender age, I had my first All-Ireland in my hands a week before and yet a week later I don’t want any part of this world.’

“It was a terrifying, terrifying process because, like I said, I couldn’t understand what was going on in my head. The cloudiness was at its highest.

“I’ve closed the business for the last year and a half, putting on that poker face, putting on that mask. Nobody knew what was going on in my world.

“That was the first time I thought, ‘I need to talk here,’ but I didn’t know what he meant.”

Carthy shared her story with her sister Mairead, and despite enjoying a brief respite, one day she suffered a panic attack with her father and was admitted to St. Patrick Hospital.

“Two nurses were by my bedside and explained exactly what had happened. Once I heard the term ‘mental hospital’ my world was turned upside down. I thought, ‘I need to get out of here.’ I thought I was. running into people in straitjackets, it was just the opposite.

“I spent 11 total weeks at St. Pat’s. I came out publicly with my story. And that was the point where a great weight was lifted from my shoulders.

“I always said I would love to share my story, whether it’s months or years when I get out of here and my life gets back on track. That’s what I did.”