MICHAEL Gerard Doherty is one of those people you only come across every so often in life. For those fortunate enough to have crossed paths with the west Belfast man, the impression is instant - and lasting.
Our first conversation came on a clammy May afternoon four years ago when Bunscoil an tSléibhe Dhuibh was named ‘Primary School of the Year' at the Irish News School, Club and Volunteer awards.
Winners normally offer up a few words about what such recognition means, and how it was achieved. The odd one might even be stuck for words, unsure how to articulate something that evolved so naturally.
Not Michael Gerard.
As a teacher at the Ballymurphy school for the previous 11 years, the sense of pride was clear. So too were the incredible levels of innovation and intuition, both inside and outside the classroom, that led to a truly special environment.
Creating a culture of enjoyment and inclusivity was at the heart of everything, encouraging responsibility among pupils too as peer coaches would look out for others across year groups, lunchtime Go Games becoming a staple of school life.
A player and coach at Padraig Sarsfield’s, and with a young family that was still growing in number, you wondered how he found enough hours in the day.
Yet the wheels were already being greased for Doherty’s next project, the hugely popular ‘Live, Love, Learn Gaelic Games’ booklets which go far beyond traditional coaching tips and techniques, focusing equally on feelings, frustrations and, above all, fun.
While word continued to spread, and those booklets became an essential part of the GAA tapestry for clubs and schools in Ireland and far beyond, he was already adding more to the load – thus, at the end of last year, came the GAA storybooks produced with Kevin O’Boyle and Ciarán Orchin.
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- Interactive GAA booklets providing inspiration across other sports
During the course of any conversation with Michael Gerard, his energy and enthusiasm strike like a smack in the face. A force of nature, a force for good within his community, his lust for life knows no bounds.
That wasn’t always the case but, in a roundabout way, it is the reason why he finds himself pointing forward today.
Last Thursday evening, at Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich, he outlined the inspiration for a new journey that has seen him call time on his teaching career, with MGD Coaching about to take flight.
It is no longer about setting up tactical drills, or using teddy bears to maximise engagement as eager young eyes look on, but helping unlock the potential in people.
Friend Ciarán May, former Antrim hurler Arron Graffin and Armagh footballer Aoife Lennon were special guests at last week’s event, and all shared their own stories of managing anxiety and the tools used to develop resilience.
Doherty has taken bits and pieces from them all, and many others, along the way. But ultimately it is the personal experience of coming back from the brink after darkness descended in 2016 that gave him the strength to go it alone.
It all began three days before his Sarsfield's U14 football team was due to head to the All-Ireland Féile na nGael in Kerry, when Doherty was rushed to hospital after collapsing in school.
There would be no trip to the Kingdom, where the young Paddies landed the Division Two Shield, as concerns grew by the day about what had caused his collapse. The tests, the scans, the nervous wait for updates and information, were taking an ever-increasing toll.
Although he attended his team’s triumphant homecoming, the picture that flashed up on the screen showed a man wracked with worry rather than revelling in the moment.
“As you can see from my face, and my daddy’s face, we’re both lost,” he said.
"That was the first moment in my life I lost that cloak of invincibility. Having been captains of most teams and being a leader in the classroom as a schoolteacher or being the go-to in the family if something needs fixed, was gone.”
Despite being told the collapse had occurred due to “stress, exhaustion and pressure”, and that his brain scans were completely clear – “the best news I could’ve got” - Doherty couldn’t shake the sense that there was more to it.
That a tumour, or something significant, must have been missed. That he wouldn’t live to see young son, Iarlaith, grow up.
Those thoughts would come to dominate every waking hour as he struggled for sleep, spiralling into a cycle of anxiety and depression, resulting in a reluctance to leave the house as those demons tightened their grip.
“It just got worse and worse, and at my deepest point I came home and said to my mother ‘I can understand now why someone can feel the need to take their own life’.
“Before that, I could never get my head around it. It was alien, it was never an option. At the end of August 2016, it was an option for me.”
It was only when Doherty returned to work, and learned of colleagues’ shared experiences, that, bit by bit, light finally started to creep in through the cracks.
“That was my turning point...”
By Halloween, he was starting to feel like something resembling his former self - and at the back of it all was ‘creid’, the Irish word for ‘believe’.
Doherty remembers clasping hands with big brother Joe, often through a car window, and the pair pulling each other in, repeating that word, positive energy transferring from one to the other.
Even now, seven years on, its power remains absolute in the context of all that occurred, and the road that brought him here.
"I surround myself with this word, ‘creid’.
“I don't know when it was, but I got to the point when I finally believed 'I’m going to get better, I want to get back to where I was at, I’m going to be wiser for it, I’m going to be stronger for it'.
"I'm so fortunate to have the support network I had around me – if I hadn’t had that, I know this would be a very different picture. People see me as the guy who did the booklets for kids, but all that was to try and create the relationships that I have, get families to open up together, talking about emotions and feelings.
"Moving into the world of performance coaching now, I truly believe this is the next natural step in my journey.
"This might sound crazy, but I'm so thankful for going through what I did. That may be a bit selfish on my family who had to live with it, but for me to be in a position to understand and recognise these traits, whether one of my sons is there, my wife is there or mates are there, I know I can support them.
"I led a life striving for perfection, but perfection doesn't exist. I now lead a life of living and trying, where I can, to empower people to believe in themselves.
"Through this journey, I want to help people 'creid', help people from any background, in any situation, believe they can overcome any obstacle that’s thrown in front of them.
“And I’m going to give it my absolute heart and soul."
