Rory O’ Connor, author of the bestselling book Rory’s Story, delivered a seminar on Monday aimed at tackling mental health stigma to TU Dublin students.

Known as Rory’s Stories on social media, Mr O’Connor is a prominent advocate for mental health in Ireland today, serving as brand ambassador for the Construction Industry Federation.

During his talk at Blanchardstown Campus, he shared details about his own struggles and experiences to raise awareness for suicide prevention and mental health awareness.

“When I was a young fella my cousin took his own life completely out of the blue, had everything going for him from the outside world but obviously he didn’t feel that internally. 

“This is why mental health and suicide prevention is so important and trying to find ways to combat it.

Speaking about a particularly low point in his life, Mr O’Connor said “In 2013, I hit rock bottom. The club I adored playing for were knocked out of the championship, when we were favourites to win.

“I took that to heart, the next day I went into Dublin and spent all day in the bookies and pubs, running away from my problems.

“I put my last 200€ on a roulette table in a casino and lost it in minutes. I should have really said to my friends I was going to go off gambling, but that’s the thing with addiction, you never want to admit it.”

Since then, Rory has built a career doing what he loves, producing comedic skits and performing stand-up routines, while doing more to improve his mental health.

“I met with Gerry Cooney from the Rutland Centre, he told me how my addictive personality could be used on a positive platform like some of the most successful people in the world.

“I made a Rory’s Stories Facebook account in 2014, where I started to do sketches of the GAA and these started to go viral very quickly. That’s where Rory’s Stories came from.”.

“I can’t emphasise how important exercise is for your mental health, along with talking about the good days and bad days.”