People were full of praise for Blindboy Boatclub’s interview on the Tommy Tiernan Show

Not for the first time, the Rubberbandits man proved a voice of reason on a national stage.

Few male figures in Ireland have been as interesting and as compelling to listen to for a certain generation of Irish people in recent years than Blindboy Boatclub.

The Rubberbandits man is funny and always entertaining, but he has a refreshing outlook on some of the issues facing young people in society, particularly the issue of mental health.

On Wednesday night, he once again offered a view on life that many people of a similar age could relate to on the Tommy Tiernan Show, speaking about his own battle with depression and how his peers in his home city of Limerick have struggled due to the recession and the lack of support systems.

“Limerick got a fair wallop off the recession and it was mainly people my own age,” Blindboy said.

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

"The recession would have hit when I was in my early 20s and half my friends went to Australia or the other half died, and the ones that didn't die were left with severe mental health issues because of lack of support systems and the pressures of their daily life and the lack of seeing a future.”

Addressing why he wears a plastic bag on his head, Blindboy told 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”.

"I used to suffer unbelievable depression and anxiety and I came out the other side of it using psychological tools and I wouldn't mind people learning a bit of that because a lot of it you can get through self-help."

With Tiernan once again showing his impressive ability to facilitate the conversation, the interview was the subject of much praise by viewers on social media and, if you didn’t catch it, is well worth listening to in full on the RTÉ Player here.

Great to see two of the most intelligent people on TV having this type of conversation. Plus there both a bit of craic. — Brian Redmond (@Briantredmond) January 31, 2018

Fantastic interview with Blindboy from @Rubberbandits on the @Tommedian show. Please support the amazing work these charities do. https://t.co/WFe1e7H7s5 — lisa moore (@lisamoore18) February 1, 2018

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

Blindboy killing it there. The truth in those eyes. Powerful stuff.#tommytiernan — JuiceBox Comedy (@JuiceBoxComedy) 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

Compassion to oneself is a huge deal if you aren't used to it. Love Blindboy everytime he speaks his own truth. A wise fella! #tommytiernan — Col Patterson (@ColPmusic) January 31, 2018