Male suicide and sport: Gary seeks out answers
It was something that had bothered musician and broadcaster Gary Innes for years – why had six of his former team-mates from Fort William’s shinty team taken their own lives over a period of 20 years?
In an attempt to find answers, Gary helped pull together twopart radio documentary series Six Men – broadcast last week and still available on the BBC iPlayer – in which he speaks to families of three of the young men, as well as to psychologists and mental health experts.
The first suicide happened when Gary was just 15, with the last coming only three years ago in 2017, when he was 36, and old and mature enough to fully appreciate the scale of the collective tragedy.
Gary, who presents the popular BBC Radio Scotland show, Take the Floor, said: ‘One of things that bothered me was that, if I had been someone who had felt suicidal, I’m not sure I would’ve known where to turn to for help or find someone just to speak to.
‘So I wanted to find out a bit more and spoke to Lochaber Hope to see if it could help. I didn’t know that nowadays there are so many different clubs and organisations locally that can help. But the suicide rate among young men in Lochaber is still atrocious.’
As well as his six former shinty team-mates, Gary knew another dozen from the local community who have also killed themselves.
What emerged from Gary’s conversations with families of local suicide victims, as well as medical and mental health professionals, was that there was no single answer as to why these six particular men had felt they had no option but to take their own lives.
‘There can be a lot of reasons
– drug and alcohol abuse or a traumatic experience, to social deprivation and depression – but one thing that does come through is much of it is driven by a sense of entrapment.’
Gary, who plays accordion with folk-rock band Mànran, says he finds it extremely worrying that the Highlands has the highest suicide rates per head of population in the UK.
In the documentary, broadcast to coincide with World Suicide Awareness Day last Thursday, Gary describes how all six of his shinty pals were very different characters.
‘They were all from loving families and all seemed fine.
They obviously felt they couldn’t open up or didn't know where to get help.
‘My hope in doing this programme is to highlight the devastation that suicide leaves behind for the families and friends of those who take their own lives.
‘More and more people are talking about mental health issues and more men are opening up. We need to show people that it’s ok to talk about feeling not ok and if you are struggling with any aspect of your mental health that there is help available.
‘I think that is a key, with more men willing to open up. When I was playing shinty it was quite a macho culture.’
And it is the recent phenomenon of more men, including celebrities, opening up to talk about their mental health that is starting to drive change, says Gary.
He added: ‘It was incredible that the three families I spoke to were prepared to speak so freely. They were very open and honest and I definitely think it will help other people who hear the programme and are struggling to deal with mental health issues.’