Family of the late Red Óg Murphy organise special evening about Mental Health
THE family of Red Óg Murphy who died by suicide have organised what promises to be a remarkable public event, an evening about mental health to be held in Summerhill College in Sligo on Friday, May 24.
A wonderful young man, Red Óg was a footballer, a son, a student teacher and much more besides.
Redmond and Geraldine Murphy live in Curry, they are parents to three boys – Red Óg, Daithí and Oisín.
Since Red Óg’s death, it has been important to the Murphy family that mental health becomes a more widespread topic of conversation, particularly among young people.
As part of their efforts to keep the issue in the forefront of people’s minds, they have organised this event in May.
Because Red Og’s life was immersed in sport, the mental health journeys of high-level sportspeople will be the particular focus of the evening.
Reflecting that theme, the panel of speakers has been specially selected, they are:
Alan Quinlan - former Munster and Ireland rugby player, mental health advocate; Philly McMahon - former Dublin footballer, mental health and resilience speaker; Sligo native Caroline Currid - one of Ireland’s foremost sports psychologists who was part of the backroom team for All-Ireland final winners Limerick and Tipperary in hurling, Dublin and Tyrone in football; Rory O’Connor - the man behind Rory’s Stories, comedian and mental health advocate.
Austin O’Callaghan of Ocean FM will be the compere on the night.
The event is free, and the aim of the evening is to give people hope. It is for the young people of Sligo and beyond, whether they are involved in sport or not, whether they find themselves with mental health issues or not. It is also for parents - anyone who thinks it might be useful to their situation is more than welcome to come along.
Redmond Murphy explained their hopes for the evening: “We want people to come along and hear what our panellists have to say. More than that, there will be a Q&A and we very much want people to ask any questions they want to. Help is out there - if this event helps one person and changes the direction they might find themselves in, it will be a success.”
To attend, you will only need to register online to give the organisers an idea on numbers. Admission is free and there will be no bucket-shaking at the door or anything like that.
Speaking in advance of the event Redmond Murphy told Austin O’Callaghan that life is “certainly different” since Red Óg’s passing.
“If it was possible, it probably brought the family closer together, the four of us, in the sense that Red Óg is with us every day and every hour of every day. He is with us spiritually, but we are doing OK.”
His mum, Geraldine, said he is with them “wherever we go”. She added: “Life has to go on, that is what Red Óg would want. He would not want us to be dwelling in the past, we try to do the best we can every day and that’s the way we work, from day to day.”
Offering an explanation for the event, Redmond said it was driven by a sense that Red Óg would want them to be doing something positive to help the young people - “to bring something very positive from a very difficult situation, to be able to think or believe that we have been able to save one life with the loss of Red Óg, that’s good enough for us.”
He added: “We’re doing his work now.”
Speaking about the event on May 24, he said it is for the young people, for the parents who have lost their young people, for the wider community and for anyone, in particular the young, who may be struggling with mental health - “to give them some light at the end of the tunnel, to hear the powerful stories from these speakers who show there is light, there is help out there and it is the hope that comes with that help.”
Full details on how to register to attend to be announced soon.
The panel of speakers is as follows:
Alan Quinlan is an Irish rugby legend who had a storied career with Ireland and Munster. He played 27 times for Ireland and won two Heineken Cups with Munster. Since his retirement in 2011, he has become one of the best-know pundits in the game and is a regular co-commentator on Virgin Media.
He is one of Ireland’s leading mental health advocates. He speaks regularly in public about his struggles with depression and the particular mental health pressures that comes with an intense sporting career.
Philly McMahon is an eight-time All-Ireland winner with Dublin. The
Ballymun Kickhams man played for the Dubs from 2008 to 2021 and was a key member of their glorious run under Pat Gilroy, Jim Gavin and Dessie Farrell.
Since his retirement from playing, he has become a must-read columnist in the Irish Independent and has been part of BBC Northern Ireland’s GAA coverage. His 2017 book ‘The Choice’ won Sports Book of the Year and detailed his life growing up in Ballymun.
Caroline Currid is one of Ireland’s best-known sports psychologists. A native of Grange, she won a junior football All-Ireland with Sligo in 2006 but has since become better known as a vital cog in several all-conquering men’s teams in both football and hurling. She has been in the backroom teams of All-Irelands won in football by Tyrone (2008) and Dublin (2011) and in hurling by Tipperary (2010) and Limerick (2018 and 2020-2023).
Rory O’Connor is a comedian who has amassed over 1.2 million followers and 2 billion video views across his social media channels, Rory’s Stories. He is a best-selling author as well and has channelled his success into being a mental health advocate. He has shared his own personal journey and struggles with mental health to tens of thousands of people in the hope to uplift, inspire and bring positive change.