Letter From My Past

Hi All ,

I am putting this letter together for some of my close friends as I haven’t been very honest with people. I am a very good actor and have covered up my true feelings about different issues over the last few years.

I have been struggling with my emotions on a number of levels in the last number of years that have resulted in three Suicide attempts since I left school in 2009. I know that suicide isn’t the answer but at each point I decided that suicide was the answer to my troubles I always found a way to talk myself out of it each time.

I won’t go into a number of the major issues that have troubled me, A lack of motivation and laziness have been big problems for me. I have also got to realise I am not the only person on this planet with problems and I have touch wood still got my health.

I have also realised that I can only really trust a small number of people. Everybody that contacted me in 2014 and told me to get in touch if I needed help , I really do appreciate the offers of support but I now know you have your own lives to get on with and don’t need me to add to your problems.

I give an impression that all’s well with me and nothing ever troubles me, but let’s face it if that was true I wouldn’t be human. Other people might tell me go away and get help and please stop writing about every problem you have.

I hope to leave home in the next few months and that might help me sort through all the problems I have. In the last few years I have learned to cope and hide my true feelings. I know I wrote a letter a few months ago telling everyone that all was well. I spend my day trying to make others laugh and can evade most questions with short answers.

In particular, I owe certain people so much for all the help and support you have given me in recent times. From the bottom of my heart , Thank You….. I wrote this a few years ago and just want to share it with people.

Cian Mc Gibney

My Ireland XV to face France

My Team to face France in this weekend’s Six Nations Opener

15 Hugo Keenan

14 Jacob Stockdale

13 Garry Ringrose

12 Robbie Henshaw

11 James Lowe

10 Jack Crowley

 9 Jamison Gibson Park

8 Caelan Doris

7 Josh Van Der Flier

6 Peter O Mahony

5 James Ryan

4 Joe Mc Carthy

3 Tadgh Furlong

2 Dan Sheehan

1 Andrew Porter

16 Ronan Kelleher

17 Cian Healy

18 Tom O Toole

19 Tadgh Beirne

20 Ryan Baird

21 Conor Murray

22 Ciaran Frawley

23 Bundee Aki

Here is the team I would select for Friday night in Marseille in round one of this year’s 6 Nations. This campaign is set fair with 3 home games against Italy, Wales and the final round against Scotland…. It is time to defend the 6 Nations title won in stunning fashion on home soil against England.

Carbery leaves Munster for pastures new

Joey Carbery will leave Munster at the end of the season after 6 years in red. He has worn the red jersey 56 times scoring 477 points to date and most likely will add another few appearances before he departs for a new opportunity in June. He will leave Munster after injury disrupted tenure.

He signed with much talk and fanfare back in 2018 with the 18/19 season being by far and away his best in red. His performance away to Gloucester in the Champions Cup will be long remembered as he scored a try and help put Andrew Conway for one of his three tries that evening.

As I mention he signed with the hope he could really challenge Jonathan Sexton for the Ireland 10 jersey at that stage. He was selected multiple times by Leinster at full back with Sexton continuing at 10.

The move to Munster was seen as a real chance to allow him to flourish at out half and not having to shift from out half to full back. He has won 37 caps with Ireland winning his first cap in 2016. He came off the bench in Chicago when Ireland defeated New Zealand for the first time in their history and was also in the squad in the summer of 2022 when Ireland won a test series in New Zealand 2-1.

He was injured prior to the 2019 World Cup and although he went to that World Cup he never fully recovered from the injury and since that time he has had an unfortunate time with injury. He has had arm, wrist and ankle injuries.

But when he was fit he showed real quality. It will go down as a career in green as defiantly promised much but for injury to nearly always rob him of the chance to put in a consistent run of games after that 18/19 season.

We do not know the destination of his next move and I am sure much speculation will dictate the next few days along with tributes etc. Like RG Snyman, he will still have a part to play for the second half of the season. With two Champions Cup games and then in February with the resumption of the URC he will have a pivotal role with Jack Crowley more than likely away on 6 Nations duty.

To Joey, firstly thank you for everything in green, blue and red since bursting onto the scene in 2016. All the best to you with what might be next for you……

6 Nations Training Squad

Forwards – Cian Healy, Andrew Porter, Denis Buckley – LH

Ronan Kelleher, Dan Sheehan, Dave Heffernan – Hooker

Tadgh Furlong, Tom O Toole, Finlay Bealham – TH

Tadgh Beirne, James Ryan, Darragh Murray, Joe Mc Carthy – SR

Tom Ahern, Josh Van Der Flier, Jack Conan, John Hodnett, Caelan Doris, Cian Prendergast, Nick Timoney- BR/No.8

Backs- Caelan Blade, Craig Casey, Jamison Gibson Park- SH

Jack Crowley, Ciaran Frawley, JJ Hanrahan- FH

Garry Ringrose, Bundee Aki, Robbie Henshaw, Antoine Frisch, Stuart Mc Closkey- Centres

Robert Balcounne, Shane Daly, Jacob Stockdale, Jimmy O Brien, Hugo Keenan, Will Addison- Back Three/FB.

Here is a training squad I would select for the 2024 6 Nations. There is room of course to interchange players off the back of the final two rounds of the Champions Cup. The URC takes a break until the middle of February which gives certain players two games to push for inclusion in Andy Farrell’s plans.