Shane Carthy took a seat beneath the Late Late Show studio lights, opened the pages of his life to the nation, and brilliantly realised the ambition of every elite athlete. In shining a light on his battle with depression, by inviting us into the Stygian darkness of the mental cell in which he was incarcerated for two years, the Dublin footballer delivered a performance that will live through the ages. It was mesmerising, electrifying TV, a show-stealing portrayal of a silent killer that demanded an All-Star for unvarnished honesty and stupendous courage. This (hopefully) is a year when the Olympic flame will blaze over Tokyo. It is earmarked also as a Euro finals summer. A GAA Championship, the Ryder Cup and the Tour de France lurk somewhere on a horizon Covid continues to shift. Yet, there will not be a more important, deeply affecting or braver display by an Irish sportsman or woman in any global arena in 2021 than Carthy's Friday night tour de force. Even if he never again steps into the Sky Blue uniform on a Croke Park summer Sunday, he leaves behind a body of work to equal the best of Brian Fenton or Stephen Cluxton. That's how unforgettable, important, hypnotising and life-affirming a message he delivered from the RTE couch. Carthy's words were pitch-perfect: It is okay to not be okay. is not a weakness to say you are suffering. And then a nugget of advice, both gentle and emphatic, a dispatch from a landmined war-zone he himself has crossed: "If you are suffering in silence, take the step and talk to somebody". It may not be an exaggeration to say that Shane's eloquent peeling back of the layers to reveal the suffocating chokehold clinical depression took on his world, along with his mapping of a route back to the sunlight, might save another's life ... "Dark Blue" ... the author's unblinking honesty, boundless compassion and ultimately upbeat message of hope, should be compulsory reading
* Sunday World, SW Sports's Curtis *
Your story is a story for our time ... if ever there was a story to connect with the young people of Ireland ... it's Shane's story
* Ryan Tubridy, RTE's The Late Late Show *
A must read for young people and parents alike ... brilliantly written
* RTE's Des Cahill *
We can never underestimate the power of hearing from people like yourself
* Today FM's Dermot & Dave Show *
Subject matter like this is never a comfortable read, but it can often be a necessary one, as it might just help someone in Shane Carthy's position to open up about their issues and seek help
* The Kerryman *
