A New Conversation for Men

7 Key Questions towards Wellbeing & Better Health – Time for a New Script

By Lorcan Brennan (Men’s Development Network)

For the last number of years the economic situation in the world has been very challenging. Europe and Ireland were both deeply affected by these circumstances and though signs and green shoots of recovery seem to be highlighted with each passing day, the truth remains that many men, families and communities are still deeply impacted by the results of the biggest recession in our country’s history.

As ever, the GAA provides a microcosm of broader Irish society. Clubs all across the island of Ireland have haemorrhaged young men in search of work and a raison d’etre to foreign shores. While clubs and communities across the world have benefitted from this influx of vibrant young men (and women) those left behind have had to deal with that loss. It hasn’t been easy for those forced to leave or those left behind to articulate how this upheaval has affected them. Perhaps that why the theme for this year’s International Men’s Health Week 2015 is ‘Time for a New Script’.

So what does this mean? Well any good script should have lots of dialogue and the Men’s Development Network’s (MDN) has developed 7 Key Questions to get men talking about their wellbeing. These questions for reflection, outlined below, were developed over many years of engaging men developmentally and conversationally.

Recent commentary about male gender conditioning and its effect on men indicates a real need for us to start reflecting on what we need to do to make things better for ourselves and each other. Some of the process of becoming a man can be unhelpful to us and others, and can act as a barrier to accessing services and better self-care. Former GAA president Liam O’Neill took the opportunity of his departing address to Congress in Cavan earlier this year to touch on this very theme. He spoke of the care and compassion naturally shown to a young female player should she get hurt or suffer the pain of defeat. He contrasted this with the default ‘get on with it and be a man’ attitude shown to young boys in a similar situation. What this achieves, he cautioned, is to discourage young boys to talk about their feelings. He also noted while visiting schools during his term young girls always asked him questions regarding what it felt like to be president (because they understood the language of emotions) while the boys stuck purely to the practicalities. He called upon GAA coaches (male and female), teachers, and parents, to all be more mindful of this and to help change that script.

Consistent with the vision of Healthy Ireland, the Men’s Development Network’s 7 Key Questions can be used as a reflective resource for supporting ourselves towards better health and wellbeing and living to our full potential. These questions can be used in a number of settings as a resource for personal reflection, one to one conversations and for engaging men developmentally.

Speaking at the GAA’s annual Health & Wellbeing Conference in March, Tipperary manager Eamon O’Shea highlighted…

“it’s important that players at any level are independent and are able to make decisions for themselves, and how they look after themselves in terms of general health and health for performance is part of that.”

The questions can act as a resource to positively address issues impacting our lives as men and can support us towards mapping next steps to a better healthier life. The questions have been designed to promote a wellness model of engaging men by focusing on what’s going well. They focus on supporting men through reflecting on their personal experience and help us identify our needs. They support us to identify resources as a support to incremental actions for better health and wellbeing. The questions are also solution based in their approach and direction, and focus on getting men talking about our lives, our joys and our challenges.

It is MDN’s hope that by using these 7 Key questions we will continue new conversations with and for men, be part of promoting a ‘New Script’ that supports greater autonomy and ownership of our wellbeing and health. I encourage you, whether as a coach or a parent or a friend, to use these questions reflectively and gently, to identify positive next steps then act for positive change.

The 7 Key Questions

1. How are things?
2. What’s going well?
3. What’s not going well?
4. Is there anything you need to do?
5. Is there any supports you need?
6. What’s one step you might take?
7. What difference might it make?

Click HERE to hear more views on #GAAhealth from the Tipperary Senior Hurling Manager, Eamon O’Shea during his contributions to the GAA National Health & Wellbeing Conference last March.

Tomorrow, Justin Campbell, Roscommon Senior Hurling Manager will be talking about how addiction can affect men’s health in Ireland.

To be in with a chance to win a County jersey of your choice, share your health tips with

us on social media using #GAAhealth