Former Munster man and Irish rugby international Alan Quinlan will be the host of a new show on Off The Ball, 'How's the Head?'
After speaking openly of his battles with anxiety, depression and the general well-being of his mental health in the past, Alan Quinlan's new series on Off The Ball will see him chat with a number of well-known personalities from the world of sport and beyond about their personal experiences.
On Monday at 12:00 pm on OTB Sports Radio, you can catch the first episode of 'How's the Head?' where Alan discusses the prospect of confronting mental health issues in the macho world of international rugby.
His first guest will be the All Blacks legend and 1987 Rugby World Cup winner, John Kirwan.
A former New Zealand winger who was officially knighted for his services to rugby and mental health in 2012, John Kirwan's professional and sporting triumphs provided no immunity from the ravages of mental illness.
In an open and honest discussion with Alan Quinlan on 'How's the Head?', Kirwan explores how he came to acknowledge that he had a problem and, crucially, how he acted in his best interests to help himself.
From almost jumping from a hotel window in an act of desperation to helping people the world over with their own personal battles, Kirwan and Quinlan admitted that such confessions of vulnerability seemed particularly tough in the sporting world they inhabited.
"You and I have lived in this macho world where you're supposed to be strong, powerful and show no weakness," recalled Quinlan, "and my biggest fear surrounded what my teammates would think of me.
"What will the rugby world think of me? If I'm going to the south of France for a European game and we're defending desperately on the line, will one of my teammates be looking at me as being mentally weak?"
"My reference to mental health was One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest..."@AlanQuinlan1 has a new series on OTB - 'How's the Head?' | 📻
Catch the first episode with @AllBlacks legend John Kirwin on OTB Sports Radio from 12:00 pm on Monday afternoon ➡️ https://t.co/UBMuyJHV0L pic.twitter.com/lDH9mbD8qV— Off The Ball (@offtheball) June 21, 2020
John Kirwan's experience was similarly daunting from the outset.
"It was the hardest decision I've ever made in my life," he admitted, "because I thought it would wreck my whole career."
Yet, as both men came to discover at either ends of the world, the people who surrounded and supported them everyday on the pitch came to show a similar compassion when there were battles to face off of it.
"That was just my perception though," explained Kirwan. "When you start talking about it, you realise that the opposite happens. When I did reach out, people just asked me why I hadn't talked to them before."
You will be able to catch the first episode of 'How's the Head?' via OTB Sports Radio from 12:00 pm on Monday afternoon.
