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How you can help ex-Red McGibbon make a difference

by
Adam Bostock
Monday 15 January 2024 17:00

By playing for Manchester United's first team, Patrick Colm McGibbon fulfilled something millions of football fans can only dream of.

And while Pat might have made only one senior appearance in the world-famous red shirt, in a League Cup tie against York City at Old Trafford in September 1995, it has still helped him to develop a profile that can now be used to poignant, positive and powerful effect in the community.

In his case, the community is Northern Ireland, the country he was born and grew up in – "we had an absolutely brilliant childhood" – and went on to represent at various levels of international football, including the men's team on seven occasions between 1995 and 2000.

The positive effect McGibbon is seeking to achieve is on the mental health and well-being of young people, through the charity he founded, Train 2 Be Smart (TTBS) Juniors. According to its official website, train2bsmart.com, TTBS aims to "successfully develop and implement a structured and progressive coaching network, further promoting and providing development opportunities for physical, technical and emotional improvements for all its players, allowing these children the opportunity to reach their full potential."

Pat McGibbon – Speaking out after 20 years

 podcast

To kick off 2024 Sam, Helen & Maysie catch up with former Red and Northern Ireland international Pat McGibbon. Pat has an important story to tell, particularly at a time of year when a lot of people struggle with their mental health. Not long after joining United as a teenager, Pat learnt the tragic news of his brother Phillip taking his own life, which is something Pat hasn't spoken about until recently. He has begun to speak publicly about mental health issues, with the aim of increasing mental health awareness, reducing the stigma and promoting health and well-being through sport. Pat tells us about this heart-breaking time for his family and also how Manchester United offered him much needed structure in his life, helping him to focus on his football career again. It wasn't until after retirement when Pat started to really struggle with his own mental health. We're pleased to say that Pat has turned things around and is now a mental health and wellbeing coach/mentor. In Phillip's honour, Pat founded the charity TRAIN 2 B SMART (TTBS) Juniors, who aim to promote positive mental health and well-being through sport. TTBS have affiliated boys and girls teams at a range of age groups. The aim of the charity is to educate through seminars, workshops, play and to inspire the local/ wider community. For more information on Train 2B Smart you can their website: https://www.train2bsmart.com/ You can donate to their Community Well-being Hub JustGiving page here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/pat-mcgibbon-1698443311088. If you'd like to write to the only official Manchester United Podcast then e-mail utdpodcast@manutd.co.uk.

"The charity promotes positive mental health and builds resilience through sport," explains Pat, when speaking to UTD Podcast hosts Sam Homewood, David May, and his compatriot Helen Evans.

"We have affiliated teams doing outreach work and we go into schools a lot, both primary and secondary schools.

"It's about being proactive rather than reactive with your mental health."
Sam Homewood, Helen Evans and David May listen intently as Pat McGibbon tells his story.
The latter topic is an intensely personal one for Pat. While training with United in the spring of 1993, as a 19-year-old prospect on Sir Alex Ferguson's first-team radar, he learned the awful, distressing news that his brother Phillip had passed away.

"I was at The Cliff training ground, for a normal day of training on 13 April, and came back to my digs [lodgings]," recalls Pat, bravely retelling the story on our podcast.

"Brenda Gosling was the landlady and she asked me to sit down. She said she had received a phone call to say that Phillip had taken his own life through suicide.

"That was obviously a very difficult stage. I went [home to Northern Ireland], and the wake and the funeral were all quite a blur."

Pat McGibbon: How United helped me

 Article

Our former defender opens up on how the club supported him through a tragic loss.

Pat recalled how supportive the club was, something he previously conveyed in a long read on ManUtd.com. "I remember the gaffer [Sir Alex] was great in that he said, 'Look, take as much time as you need,'" he said during the podcast.

"But after a week and a half, maybe two weeks, there was nothing really for me [at home]. I'd worked really hard to make a career for myself. So I came back to Manchester and I probably just parked the bus."

By that, Pat means he didn't talk about his brother's suicide and instead threw himself into five years of football with United, followed by a further five with Wigan Athletic.

"I had a very stable 10 years. It was only really [after that] when I went back home that I started to struggle. When you finish your playing career, it almost feels like it's a death. [People] say, 'There's that boy who used to play professional football.'

"I missed walking out on the pitch... the changing room, the banter, all the craic. It was a very difficult time."
Pat in action for Wigan, the club he joined from United in the summer of 1997.
McGibbon's own struggles with mental health have led to that being a focus of his work for Train 2 Be Smart, as it evolved from purely being the football coaching programme it was when he founded it in 2013.

"Phillip's the driver, in terms of the mental health work and purpose," acknowledged Pat, referencing his late brother.

"I feel purposeful now. I go out and do very important outreach work in terms of people being proactive rather than reactive within your mental health. It has evolved into something I just love doing."

HOW YOU CAN HELP PAT'S CHARITY adcard

DONATE HERE

This real sense of purpose includes raising funds in Craigavon, Northern Ireland, where there's an aspiration to develop an old existing gravel pitch into a community hub which will promote well-being, and both educate and inspire local people.

If you feel you can make a donation to help Pat's cause, please visit his JustGiving page via the button above.

Pat McGibbon's emotive episode of UTD Podcast is available now in the United App and on ManUtd.com, and will be on other streaming platforms from Tuesday.

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