Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
MCGEE REVEALS ANXIETY ISSUES
DONEGAL’S 2012 All-ireland winner Eamon Mcgee has opened up on his former struggles with anxiety, panic attacks and alcohol. Mcgee, who announced his inter-county retirement last year, was speaking with former Cavan goalkeeper Alan O’mara on the latest Real Talks podcast. Mcgee admits he was “renowned more as a partier than a footballer” during the 2000s. He made his Donegal senior debut in 2004 but found it difficult to adapt to life as a county footballer. He explained: “I think it was apparent that I struggled off the field and as a result of that, I struggled on the field, too. “For me, it was just culture at the time. The lads all enjoyed the pints, didn’t take things too seriously. “It suited me but none of the lads suffered from anxiety attacks or panic attacks or they didn’t develop a dangerous relationship with alcohol. “That was part of what happened to me. All them lads grew out of it, I never grew out of that phase. “A big enough social scene was a big part of it and unfortunately, I had other things going on in the background, too. When you add that in, it was just a bad combination. It wasn’t conducive to an elite athlete. “For me, buses was a big one. I’m sitting on the bus sweating, on the way to college. You don’t want anyone else to know. You’re jittery, it was a wild struggle to hide it. You’re thinking you’re going to die here, you’re going to have a heart attack on a bus. It’s tight stuff.” Mcgee admits he struggled to fill the void for a period after his retirement last year. He reflected: “Life’s good now. At the time, when I retired, I probably didn’t really know the massive decision that I’d made. “It wasn’t until it was about two or three months afterwards, I went through a downer, whatever you want to call it.”