MANY VIEWERS who tuned in to the Tommy Tiernan Show last night on RTE One might have been quick to judge Blindboy Boatclub as merely one half of the comedic, shopping bag wearing duo known as the Rubberbandits,
People may be surprised to find out that this man with a Spar bag covering his face is considered a spokesperson for a whole generation of Irish youths, and he exhibited his admirable passion and intelligence very eloquently on national television last night.
No doubt that the Rubberbandits man is funny and always entertaining, but he has a refreshing outlook on the mental issues facing the young people in Irish society.
Not only that, but he’s having quite a successful run at the moment, with his popular podcast, The Blindboy Podcast, remaining at number one in the iTunes charts for 15 weeks, and his collection of short stories The Gospel According To Blindboy being hailed as one of the best literary works of 2017.
Having qualified with a phD in Psychotherapy, the Limerick native has a proactive approach to tackling the ever-growing male suicide rates in Ireland, and outlined his opinion on last night’s show.
He spoke very openly about his own struggles with depression and how his hometown of Limerick has suffered immensely from the recession and the lack of support systems in recent years.
Blindboy also took the opportunity to address why he wears a plastic bag on his head, explaining to Tommy that he wanted to find a way of speaking about issues that affect men under 30 in Ireland through a medium that isn’t intimidating and that’s a “bit of craic”.
Wondering where the plastic bag idea came from? When Blindboy @Rubberbandits saw the percentage of men under 30 who followed him on social media he wanted to find a way to talk mental health and not be intimidating. The #TommyTiernan Show is on now. pic.twitter.com/UVn7Hv1MQY
— RTÉ One (@RTEOne) January 31, 2018
You can watch the full interview on the RTE Player here.
Viewers were full of praise for the interview, and took to Twitter to discuss the programme.
blindboy is honestly one of the most underrated advocates for mental health that we have in this country, we need more like him
big up #tommytiernanshow— Patricia (@_PatriciaV_) January 31, 2018
Just subscribed to Blindboy @Rubberbandits podcast after watching on Tommy Tiernan tonight. The most sensible talker on National broadcast. Inspirational, forward thinking, intelligent, new age thinking, why dont we collectively think and act like this?
— Noel O'Keeffe (@nok1980) January 31, 2018
Blindboy Boatclub makes me proud to be from Limerick. His perfect blend of intelligence and humour are mesmerising. #tommytiernan
— Michael Cooke (@MikeCooke92) January 31, 2018
The Rubberbandits have used their platform to support charities such as Samaritans and Pieta House in the past.
Last September, they released Sonny, a song about suicide, with the proceeds going to those charities.
