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18th March 2024
12:34pm GMT
Viewers of The Tommy Tiernan Show have praised former GAA star Kieran Donaghy for opening up in a poignant chat on the RTÉ show on Saturday night.
The four-time All-Ireland winner chatted to Tommy about his relationship with his late father, who struggled with addiction while he was growing up.
Donaghy explained that after his parents separated, his father developed an alcohol and gambling addiction, which frayed their relationship up until he died.
“I didn’t talk to him for two years before he died,” he told Tiernan. “He had a lot of issues but there were good sides to him.”
He added, “I felt I always had anger for him for missing that part of my life when you need your dad the most, that 12 to 18 age group.”
However, the 41-year-old reflected that his father may have had undiagnosed mental health issues, and has tried to understand what he was going through during his life.
“The funeral was tough. A few years after I was thinking, there was probably more going on with him,” he told Tommy.
“The more you think about it and the more older you get, I kind of think, ‘Could I have done more to help? Could I have looked past the issues that he obviously had?'”
Donaghy added that in a more modern Ireland, his father would have had access to better help and treatment for what he was suffering from.
He mentioned that he had passed by his father’s town last week, visiting his grave to “say a prayer”.
Donaghy also discussed the help that his involvement in GAA and basketball has given him throughout the years, saying, “It’s enjoyable and it’s a good outlet for me to get some of the frustrations that I probably would have in my life.
“I would never quit, no matter what way the game was going.”
Viewers were quick to laud the interview and praised Donaghy’s openness during the conversation.
“Could listen to Kieran Donaghy talk forever. What an eventful life he has lived, both on & off the GAA pitch…” one viewer said.
Another added, “Tommy is such an amazing interviewer. He just knows what to ask at the right time. Fabulous interview with Kieran Donaghy. I teared up, sad story about his dad.”
“The most enjoyable interview of the series so far..” a third said.
On Saturday’s episode, Tommy also chatted to language rights activist Linda Irvine and poet Dagogo Hart.
