Ireland cricketer opens up about lifelong struggles
Mooney reveals battle with depression
Ireland cricketer John Mooney has given a harrowing account of a life badly-affected by depression.
Mooney, who has played 50 one-day internationals and recently returned to the national side after approximately six months out with the illness, spoke with Hugh Cahill on RTE 2FM’s Game On in Ireland about the chronic issue, which has impacted the lives of fellow cricketers Jonathan Trott and Luke Pomersbach among many others in recent times.
“About two years ago, I had to go and start doing some counselling,” the 32-year-old said.
“My father dropped dead in front of me (when I was) an 11-year-old boy and I never really dealt with those issues coming into my teenage years.
“I got into quite a bit of trouble and I made a promise to him that I was going to play cricket for Ireland, and that was the real driving force for me to even stay in the game.
“And a couple of years ago, I found myself falling out of love with the game, not finding much pleasure in anything really.
“(I) started to go to counselling and that started to stir up a lot of emotional feelings and stuff like that.”
Mooney, a star performer in the Ireland side since debuting in 2000, made 33 not out and famously hit the winning runs in Ireland’s dramatic win over England in the 2011 World Cup, and last year steered his side to victory over Afghanistan with 10 wickets in the first-class Intercontinental Cup final.
During Ireland’s limited-overs tour to the West Indies in February, it was reported that Mooney had left the squad and headed home due to a “stress-related illness”.
"For the last number of years, I’ve started to withdraw from everyday life," he revealed.
"Drinking excessively is never good and you’re masking your feelings and a lot of men don’t talk about their feelings and I’m certainly one of those people.
"I spent 20 years bottling up all my feelings.
"It was a really tough process to get to where I’ve got to here today.
"But it wasn’t an overnight thing, it was a gradual build-up and when I was out in the Caribbean, things had slipped and there was just no way I could go on with that tour ... (it) came at the wrong time for me emotionally and the decision was made to come home by myself and my wife and ‘Simmo’ (coach Phil Simmons).”
The seam bowler is now well on the road to recovery, having played for Ireland against Scotland this week, and will likely feature as part of the Emerald Isle’s squad when they take on New South Wales and Queensland later this month and into October.
“It was tough at the time,” he added.
“It’s been tough the last few months, but I’ve made some great progress and wouldn’t change it for anything because I really feel now that I’m in a good place and back in love with the game and enjoying things.
For information and support on mental health, call beyondblue on 1300 22 4636 or Lifeline on 13 11 14