GAA referee Patrick Nelis has revealed he attempted suicide on the back of social media criticism of his performance in the Meath County final in 2013.
The match between Summerhill and Na Fianna was officiated by Nelis and in the aftermath he received messages about his performance on social media, and it extended to comments about his personal life.
He said a message from one of the players involved in the game was part of the abuse he received.
Nelis claimed he was called a "fat red hamster" and was described as "poison" in some of the social media comments.
He said that he received around 30 tweets after the game and then more messages privately on Facebook.
The referee had been battling depression and spoke on RTÉ Radio 1 this morning about the aftermath of the game and how much the social media comments hurt him.
“I think after that final, the buzz went away. It absolutely took stuff out of me when I read those tweets and Facebook messages. I went home that night, I absolutely cried my eyes out and did it for days. I isolated myself, stayed in my room for two or three days at a time and wouldn’t eat.
“I just had this plan in my head. This is what I was going to do ... it was too much for me. I plunged into a deep well of depression and I was already fragile leading up to the final.”
He also paid tribute to the role the GAA played in his recovery in the aftermath.
Listen to the full interview below:
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Having spoken recently with Patrick, I would like to commend him for his courage in speaking out and wish him all the very best for the future, an incredibally humble and honest human being. Hopefully there are many many years left in Patrick's Refereeing career.