By John Harrington

When Hamburg GAA club-member, Sebastian ‘Sebi’ Rießbeck, took his own life in 2016, it was a hammer-blow for a young club that had only been founded a year previously.

But, from tragedy, has come a very positive legacy.

That will be very apparent at the Irish embassy in Berlin tomorrow when 13 European GAA clubs will take part in an International Mental Health Awareness Training Course coordinated by Hamburg GAA.

It’s the latest in a number of positive initiatives Hamburg have undertaken to ensure that the emotional wellbeing of its members is a priority for the club.

Sebastian Rießbeck’s name will be remembered every year the European Camogie Cup named in his honour is contested, but perhaps an even more meaningful legacy is the ethos of caring for one another that his loss has fostered in his GAA club.

“When ‘Sebi’ took his own life it was very noticeable the effect it had on the club and individuals within the club,” says Hamburg GAA club’s Healthy Club officer, Owen Wheeler.

“It has always remained very much to the forefront of our club and his name would often be remembered.

“While we always felt like a family in the club, particularly after that we became a very, very close unit and we realised how much we all depend on each other.

“That became one of the main objectives of the club, to maintain that feeling that we're here to help each other out.

“So many of us are away from home and our support networks so that's why we all help each other over here. A lot of us wouldn't have had any friends over here before we joined the club, but through joining the club we've made some true friends.”

After Sebastian Rießbeck’s death, Hamburg GAA carried out a confidential survey of its members who were asked to share any personal issues they might have that could be helped by the appropriate counselling or professional help.

Many were assisted in this way, and Hamburg GAA's proactive approach to emotional health has had both a cathartic and energising effect on its club members.

More than half of the club’s membership of around 100 are non-Irish, and they’re attracted to Hamburg GAA not just by the opportunity to play Gaelic Games, but to be part of a club that shows it really cares for its members.

“There's a doctor here in Hamburg who was a GP initially but then began training to be a sports doctor,” says Wheeler. “He had to find a club for his course so he joined us and we became very good friends.

“I spoke to him very early on about this whole health and wellbeing initiative we were planning to see if we could add something to it that would fit more with non-Irish because of the fact that we're in Germany and clubs are coming in from across greater Europe and perhaps not everything we were planning might be relevant to some people for cultural reasons.

“He had quite a long think about it and came back to me and thought about all the different clubs and organisations he'd worked with and was used to seeing in Germany, and he said there simply was no other club or system that offers what the GAA offers in terms of supporting mental health awareness and issues with their clubs.

“Certainly not the way the GAA do it in terms of raising awareness among team-mates. They play the sport, but that's where it stops. We offer something more and it makes a difference.

“The things we have to offer aside from being on the pitch every so often are a huge part of our club.”

Supported by the GAA’s Community and Health department, Saturday’s event at the Irish Embassy in Berlin will showcase a lot of the positive work being done now by the GAA in the mental health space.

Samaritans-GAA Partnership Coordinator, Majella Canty, will give demonstrations of ‘The Huddle’, a post-training talk emphasising the importance of mental as well as physical fitness to players and their management team that has already proven to be a powerful tool for many GAA clubs.

While Colleen Fahey from JigSaw will deliver a One Good Coach workshop which will be available to all GAA clubs on GAA.ie from January 2020.

“It’s all about talking about the difference aspects of how teams and club-members can look after each other and how we can get across to club members that it’s acceptable to be in good form and to encourage them to talk to others about any issues they might have,” says Wheeler.

“A club should be the perfect environment for people to share whatever problems or issues they might have.”

Sebastian Rießbeck will always be missed by his fellow Hamburg GAA club members, but his legacy lives on powerfully.