The Irish Rugby Union Players' Association (IRUPA) hosted a mental wellbeing panel discussion as part of its 'Tackle Your Feelings' campaign at Kingspan Stadium on Tuesday 4th October.
Tackle Your Feelings is a mental wellbeing campaign, developed and delivered by IRUPA, which sees provincial and international rugby stars come forward to tell their own personal story of the issues they have faced off the pitch.
The panel featured Lions, Ireland and Ulster star Tommy Bowe, who opened up on the impact on coming back from injury on his own mental wellbeing. Tommy was joined on the panel by Ireland women’s player Hannah Tyrrell who is a Tackle Your Feelings Ambassador and Omar Hassanein, CEO of IRUPA. Dr Eddie Murphy, Clinical Psychologist and Tackle Your Feelings advisor also added to the discussion by providing practical advice as to how attendees can proactively manage their mental wellbeing.
Speaking at the event Tommy Bowe said:
“It was very encouraging to see so many people at the Tackle Your Feelings panel discussion, this campaign has touched so many people since it was launched earlier this year and I am really pleased that IRUPA have committed to helping the rugby community and beyond come together and learn how to tackle their feelings. I hope that in hearing stories from professional rugby players that anyone who is going through a tricky time can recognise that there are practical ways to move forward.”
Omar Hassanein, CEO, IRUPA, said, “We are delighted to bring the Tackle Your Feelings campaign to Belfast and the panel discussion in Ulster is really the first steps in reaching out to the rugby and wider community with this campaign. The campaign is a really important element of the work that we are doing to help people improve their mental wellbeing and highlights some of the struggles that our rugby players experience as part of their everyday lives. You can visit www.tackleyourfeelings.com to find out more.”
As part of the ‘Tackle Your Feelings’ campaign, Ireland and Leinster front-row Jack McGrath, came forward earlier this year to speak about how he coped with the death of his brother by suicide in 2010, alongside Irish women’s player, Hannah Tyrrell, who talked about how she overcame her struggles with self-harm and bulimia.
There are a number of Ambassador Videos hosted on the website as well as resources designed specifically for the campaign.
Tackle Your Feelings is a mental wellbeing campaign, developed and delivered by IRUPA, which sees provincial and international rugby stars come forward to tell their own personal story of the issues they have faced off the pitch.
The panel featured Lions, Ireland and Ulster star Tommy Bowe, who opened up on the impact on coming back from injury on his own mental wellbeing. Tommy was joined on the panel by Ireland women’s player Hannah Tyrrell who is a Tackle Your Feelings Ambassador and Omar Hassanein, CEO of IRUPA. Dr Eddie Murphy, Clinical Psychologist and Tackle Your Feelings advisor also added to the discussion by providing practical advice as to how attendees can proactively manage their mental wellbeing.
Speaking at the event Tommy Bowe said:
“It was very encouraging to see so many people at the Tackle Your Feelings panel discussion, this campaign has touched so many people since it was launched earlier this year and I am really pleased that IRUPA have committed to helping the rugby community and beyond come together and learn how to tackle their feelings. I hope that in hearing stories from professional rugby players that anyone who is going through a tricky time can recognise that there are practical ways to move forward.”
Omar Hassanein, CEO, IRUPA, said, “We are delighted to bring the Tackle Your Feelings campaign to Belfast and the panel discussion in Ulster is really the first steps in reaching out to the rugby and wider community with this campaign. The campaign is a really important element of the work that we are doing to help people improve their mental wellbeing and highlights some of the struggles that our rugby players experience as part of their everyday lives. You can visit www.tackleyourfeelings.com to find out more.”
As part of the ‘Tackle Your Feelings’ campaign, Ireland and Leinster front-row Jack McGrath, came forward earlier this year to speak about how he coped with the death of his brother by suicide in 2010, alongside Irish women’s player, Hannah Tyrrell, who talked about how she overcame her struggles with self-harm and bulimia.
There are a number of Ambassador Videos hosted on the website as well as resources designed specifically for the campaign.