Clare Shine: 'My career didn’t shape up to be what I hoped for but I am the person I am today because of sport...'

THURSDAY evening saw the best and brightest of Cork gather at Páirc Uí Chaoimh for The Echo Women in Sport Awards.

They were treated to a speech from guest of honour Clare Shine that outlined the struggles of being a professional athlete and how sport can be used to overcome such adversity.

As a youngster, the Douglas native excelled at camogie, ladies football, and soccer, reaching great heights from playing at Croke Park to scoring in the Champions League but battled addiction and mental health issues along the way.

The former Irish international said: “When I was asked to be guest speaker for tonight’s awards, as soon as I got off the phone I was thinking ‘how am I going to inspire women who inspire me?’

“But being an athlete is so much more than what people may seem; the hard work, commitment, scarifies, blood, sweat, and tears, the highs and lows, the cold winter nights, the pressure, the expectations, not only the expectations that people have on you but the expectations you have on yourself to be the absolute best that you can be.

“And that is where the real athlete is born. Sport shapes you into being an incredible human being.

“In saying that, my career didn’t shape up to be what I hoped for in the end, but I am the person I am today because of sport. That is something I am forever grateful for.

PAVING THE WAY

“Growing up playing sport in Cork, it was always exciting between Gaelic football, camogie, and soccer, I spent every night of the week doing what I loved. The opportunities that young sport stars have in Cork are incredible and that is down to the work being done by all of you paving the way.

“It was only on my way across here tonight after a long day of reflecting, and reflecting is something that I do love to do, I remembered winning the monthly award and attending the annual dinner just like today and only caring about the wine that was being served.

“For me, I was never present. I was never someone who could appreciate what I had achieved in the moment because there was always the next trophy and game to win.

It’s only since I stopped playing a couple of months back that I really started to appreciate and be proud of my achievements.

“Being true to yourself while playing sport can be difficult at times. There’s a simple fact that lies among our fears and that is being judged. Being put under a light of having weaknesses and being vulnerable is something that can categorise us as being unfit and not being the best player or athlete that we can be, which can be a scary thought.

YOUR WEAKNESS IS A STRENGTH

“I most certainly think the opposite. I think being vulnerable and having weaknesses is having a strength like no other.

“Imagine a world where everyone can be themselves; be open and honest with who they are without a fear of judgement. We would be unstoppable, unplayable, and the best version of ourselves on and off the pitch.

“For me, I spent the majority of my sporting career afraid to be myself, afraid to share what I was going through because I was afraid I wouldn’t be selected or chosen to be part of something I always dreamed of.

“I’ve travelled around the world doing what I love. I’ve played in a World Cup, two European finals, an All-Ireland final in Croke Park, and I’ve scored in the Champions League.

“When I found myself in a situation where my mental health and my addictions pulled me away from the things that I loved, portrayed me as someone I’m not, and slowly deteriorated my life on this earth, it was sport and the sporting community that gave me my life back. 

That is the power of sport; the power of having team-mates and a family who believe in you. Not only as a player, but more importantly as the human being you really are.

“If I could change one thing about being an athlete, it would be how we are understood. Especially when we go through difficult periods. We do not have control over everything that happens in our lives. But we do have control over how we react to it and no matter what happens in life, sport has the power to bring us back to life.

“Just like it did for me.”