Arts Week with Judy Murphy

“Music, spoken-word, a bit of irreverence and guests” are what people can expect if they attend the live version of Niall Breslin’s hit podcast, Where is My Mind?, which is currently on tour.

When he brings it to Galway’s Town Hall Theatre next Tuesday, October 1, the special guest will be his former rugby colleague, the extreme adventurer, Damian Browne, “one of the most impressive humans on the planet” according to Niall, or Bressie as he is more widely known.

Impressive is also a word that describes him; a former senior rugby player with Leinster, a member of the band the Blizzards, a solo singer-songwriter and producer, and author. In a past life, he enjoyed TV success as a coach on RTÉ’s talent show, The Voice of Ireland. But Niall’s greatest passion, and the area in which he is hugely influential, is mental health.

Seeking help for his own anxiety and mental health problems about a decade ago brought him on a new path, one that led to the popular podcast, Where is My Mind?, as well as creating an endless curiosity about a subject that affects us all. That resulted in him studying for a Master’s in mindfulness-based interventions, which he’s now following up with a PhD in Trinity College. It’s been some journey, he agrees.

“I always believed my happiness lay in achievements and I kept trying to achieve things, putting myself under pressure,” he says of his younger years.

It took Niall a long time to learn that his true happiness lay in being connected with his family and loved ones, including his dog. “And good people. I really like being around good people, no matter who they are.”

Everyone has a story, Niall observes, and he loves stories.

Growing up in Westmeath, he attended Mullingar CBS Primary School, which was among the schools listed in the recent report into alleged sexual abuse in schools run by religious orders.

“I wasn’t sexually abused but I was badly beaten”, he says of how a culture of corporal punishment persisted, even after it had become illegal. “Every single day we went to that school, someone was beaten.”

When Niall was 13, the family moved to the Middle East, living on the Lebanese-Israeli border, where his father Enda, a member of the Irish Defence Forces was on peacekeeping duty.

“I was there when there was another war,” he says in reference to the current situation.

So, despite having great parents and siblings to whom he was very close – and still is – there was trauma in his young life.

Pictured: Naill Breslin. His special guest for the show will be retired rugby player and extreme adventurer Damian Browne. The two played rugby for Ireland at U21 level.