Decorated Galway hurler Iggy Clarke the star turn at mental health event

At last week’s event to mark 10 years of the mental health partnership of Samaritans Ireland and the GAA, Iggy Clarke stood out for his life experience.
Whereas there was no mistaking the credentials of established wellbeing advocate and Dublin footballer Nicole Owens, or Limerick hurler Dan Morrissey’s articulate engagement with how elite men’s teams grapple with the issue, Clarke has an extensive CV in this area.
A four-time All-Star hurler, who missed Galway’s only All-Ireland in 64 years because of injury, he was also ordained a priest before leaving religious life and qualifying as a psychologist and therapist.
He has frequently remarked on the contrast between pressures on contemporary players and young people and his playing days in the 1970s and ‘80s. His distinguished playing career does however resonate with his modern audience.
“Their experiences are very different, much more pressurised. I do a programme, called Ahead of the Game [a GAA and GPA initiative] with Movember [the men’s health charity]. That means meeting up with a lot of young people and going into the clubs to meet them.
“The fact that I can say to them, ‘I was like yourselves. I played minor, under-21 [at which level he captained Galway’s first All-Ireland winning side] and at senior county level’ — I think [this] means that they can appreciate that I’m likely to know the experience of playing, the difficulty, the joy and he probably knows what he’s talking about.
“The fact that we have shared that experience with its ups and downs, training and the frustrations of being dropped, injured and recovered is a major connection with players regardless of age.
“Compared to our time, I think there is massive pressure on players now and it’s probably why some players escape to gambling and in clubs especially to drugs. It’s just an outlet really.
“I think that’s part of the extreme pressure on them. In our day in the 1970s and ‘80s we didn’t have that type of pressure. We trained twice a week and played on a Sunday and carried on with the rest of our lives in the meantime.
“I felt there was a good balance in our approach at that time.”
Few, regardless of age, would not be impressed by the scale of the setback Clarke suffered in 1980. In the semi-final against Offaly, he “had been playing magnificently” according to this newspaper when injured just before half-time. He would go on to win his fourth All Star later in the year but almost immediately he knew there would be no All-Ireland final.
He has said that his clerical studies in philosophy helped to overcome an event of which he previously said, “terrible is probably too small a word” but that didn’t bring instant consolation.
“It didn’t kick in immediately because there was serious disappointment. I was taken off by a stretcher to the Mater hospital and had a big operation that evening, putting steel pins in my shoulder and then the doctors saying that they have to be in for six weeks. I knew then the All-Ireland was out.
“There was devastation at that, disappointment and the doctors were so clear and adamant that it became equally clear in my head that I wasn’t going to make this. It was difficult because a lot of other people were saying to me, ‘ah, you’ll be fine. You’ll be grand, recovered, and on the field’.
“The fact that I was from a farming background was also a help. Farmers have to be practical, down to earth and close to nature and its consequences. That practicality helped me as well. I was being asked to make the most of it, to deal with it and recover.”
He credits Galway manager Cyril Farrell with alleviating the situation by involving him in the team preparation, discharging media duties et cetera. When Galway won, he even became part of the occasion with the crowd chanting his name and Joe Connolly taking time out from his legendary speech to hand him the Liam MacCarthy.
After that ebullient breakthrough, should Galway have won more?
“Oh, yes, definitely! When I look back on it I think we possibly should have won in 1979. By ‘81, we could possibly have won three in a row. When I look at the 1987-88 team, I think we could have won four in a row.
“But we didn’t. As Brian Cody, says, ‘the best team wins on the day’. The scoreboard tells and we didn’t do it.”
Clarke is, though, optimistic about the future now that Micheál Donoghue has returned as manager.
“Yeah, I think it’s a good move. He has a lot of experience and is from Galway and has the experience of winning in 2017. Probably when I look at the overall picture, it’s a time to rebuild. We need younger players to come in and help to replace the older players. I wouldn’t expect success straight away.”