Interview: 'Like taking a deep breath' - Bressie on Mayo show and his mental health podcast

Mental health is a topic on everyone’s lips.

For Niall Breslin, an Irish musician and former sportsperson, the subject has become the focal point of his life.

‘Bressie’ - as people know him - is bringing his award-winning podcast ‘Where Is My Mind?’ to Castlebar’s TF Royal Theatre this October (Friday, October 11). It will be a show, he says, that will bring humour rather than an intense lense on the issue of mental health.

“The thing that stands out the most from these shows is that there are 15-year-olds to 90-year-olds in attendance. It is not an intense heavy experience which people sometimes expect it to be,” Bressie told The Western People.

Since doing his master's degree in mindfulness at UCD, the Mullingar man wanted to speak to people about mental health and how “chaotic”, as he described it, the world can be.

“I don’t know what is going on in people’s lives but if they are feeling overwhelmed, I want them to feel empowered by the podcast,” the ex-Blizzards star said.

“Community is the most important aspect I have learned through my research and work. I grew up in rural Ireland, and I know friends who felt lonely, especially during the pandemic, and I didn’t want them to be afraid to admit that.” 

Bressie co-founded the charity ‘A Lust for Life’ which helps support young people with their mental health. Growing up, he didn’t have such support and described his mind as a difficult place to deal with.

“My hero died - Kurt Cobain - and I asked my teacher what had happened. My teacher called him a coward, so that was my mental health education and how I was conditioned.

“Back then, did I ever think I was going to study the human mind? Definitely not, it was the last thing I thought would happen. I was a musician and an athlete, but all of these things I loved doing were dictated by my inability to deal with my mental health.” 

The former Leinster Rugby player and Westmeath footballer, who is currently undertaking his PhD at Trinity College, is looking forward to bringing the focus on mental health to Mayo, along with his musical talent to the TF stage.

“The show will be like taking a deep breath - you will leave the night feeling lighter. I hope it changes people’s perspective on mental health. That is ultimately what I am trying to do.” 

Bressie, along with special guests, is bringing his live podcast to 11 locations during the month of October. Tickets for his Castlebar show are on sale now through Ticketmaster (€32.65 per ticket).