“People who know me know that I’ve struggled with my mental health and that I continue to struggle with it. You develop tools as time goes on, and you get better at staying tight to the light.

“Movember tapped into that need to be part of a tribe. A generation of men have been displaced over the last number of years, and it’s not for one reason or the other. Society changes and we all have to adapt. I started going to men’s circles when I was living in Spain because there were aspects of being a man or knowing myself that I wasn’t taught. I didn’t have guidance growing up. Our generation has access to so many tools that previous generations may not have had. There’s no one to blame for that, but you’re left feeling uneducated about going through life. Being connected to a community of your peers makes you feel safe and open. You can slowly coax your shadow into the light. That’s what kills a lot of people - the inability to share a shadow, and it consumes you instead of shrinking it. If somebody is dealing with mental sickness, it adds to physical sickness.

“It’s a very empowering thing to grow a moustache. When you see someone walking down the street with one, you’ll give them the nod because you’re part of something bigger than yourself. Especially since the pandemic, there’s been that silent pandemic of male suicide. The statistics are so high, and aren’t spoken about enough. Movember shrinks the stigma of being human. We need to get to a place where there doesn’t need to be any push for this.

“Dealing with the pressures of living life is tough. We’re bombarded from the moment we wake up with information about how you’re inadequate, you need this, you need that. People spend so much time on their avatar, on their Instagram. It’s all for show. That’s not reality. We’re in a primitive age of data and we’re feeling the effects of that. Coming out of isolation now, we’re having to go out and socialise again and there’s a fear there about that. Integrating again into a new way of being, it’s important to speak about our emotions.

“Movember will have a generational effect. We become more efficient at reaching out to people. Whatever mental wellness or unwellness, it’s all about communication and lack of stigma. Shame has been a bogeyman in this country for generation upon generation, going back to colonisation.

“Before Movember, I wouldn’t have considered getting screened for prostate or testicular cancer, but now I would. Whether I’d follow through is another story because you feel this sense of invincibility when you’re in your twenties. It certainly opens the dialogue. Before that, I wouldn’t have been in the ceann. I hope that I can be educated by those who have had experiences with those situations as a result of working with Movember this year. It all seems so unreal until it’s at your doorstep, and then the gears need to shift very quickly. It’s a real honour to be involved. This sense of having to open up and face these things that are inherently human and knowing that I can hold things in, it’s an amazing conversation to be had.”

To join Movember Ireland's campaign or donate to the cause, visit ie.movember.com.

Read Kev Sharkey and Seán O'Hara's poignant Movember journeys here.