Since I was a young man, any time I was having any difficulties I always turned to the sea to make me feel better. During one of the first lockdowns, while in the water, I started to question if everyone felt the same benefit as me after being in the sea and how it impacted their wider life. This then inspired me to start The Ripple Effect Ireland project which was an Instagram page where I asked people to share why they swam and the impact it had on their wider life. The hope with this was that it would inspire others, who were struggling, to give it a go and ultimately feel better.

The page grew in numbers year on year and this then prompted the idea of hosting sea swimming meet-ups to encourage people who felt isolated or had lost a swim partner during the colder months. Thankfully these were a great success but the one noticeable thing was how few men were showing up for them, despite how many men I knew were struggling with their own mental health issues. While running the REI page I came across a group called Blueballs Cornwall and I really liked what they were about, which was getting men in the sea, but more so getting men to talk. I felt there was nothing like that in Dublin so I approached two good friends of mine , Jonathan Smith and Dean Smith (no relations), about creating something like that here. I had met these men through sea swimming as this more evidence that the sea has an amazing power of bringing people together.

The two lads were very keen and in November 2022 Blueballs Ireland was born. Even on that cold and dark night, when 20 lads showed up, we knew we were on to something and the group has grown beyond our wildest aspirations.

Alongside sea swimming, one of the biggest positive impacts in my life was joining Pat Divillys ‘Basecamp’ men’s program. This was basically an online men’s circle that did check-ins every week, learning about things such as shadow work and shame, and most importantly the power of listening to other men share their stories. This was something I was keen to recreate with our own group and this is one of the main reasons why I was keen to host out own events at Offgrid in Bray and in Jonathan's cafe Ernesto’s in Rathmines. The experience I have gained from running our own events, watching other guest facilitators, and the my time as part of the Basecamp group has lead me on my own personal development journey. I am delighted to announce that I recently qualified as Coach with Whole Integrated Neuroscience, something I hope to use during future events.

I truly believe in what we are building here. If we can encourage a man to take the brave step to show up for a swim, hike, men’s circle etc… This could ultimately be a catalyst for a change of trajectory of someone who is walking the path towards taking his own life.