How agreeable are you?
Fairly agreeable. I’d be laid back in many ways. If people have strong opinions, I wouldn’t be one to argue with them. If that’s their opinion, that’s their opinion. I want the easy life – so I let them off.
What’s your middle name and what do you think of it?
My middle name is Michael and I like it. David Michael, I think it’s got a nice flow to it.
Where is your favourite place in Ireland?
The west coast, somewhere like Inishbofin. I’ve gone there a few times and I really like the solitude and the calmness of it all. It’s beautiful.
Describe yourself in three words.
Laid-back. Motivated. Active.
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When did you last get angry?
I coach children. And sometimes it can be hard dealing with parents of young kids. As a volunteer you give up your time and you’re trying to develop the kids. Sometimes people get so caught up on results. I think parents sometimes need to understand that you need to let all the kids develop in their own way. They all develop at their own rate and they’re not going to be the finished article at nine or 10. There’s a process involved. I’m all for hearing people’s opinions, but if you’re going to have strong opinions, why don’t you get involved? Why don’t you come down and help out? Be more solution oriented.
I was a bit annoyed too about the €6 million announced for Sports Ireland ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games [in this week’s budget]. I welcome any additional funding, but €6 million in this day and age isn’t a whole lot. When you consider what the Olympics did for the country this summer – even look at the athletics clubs, they’re inundated with applications from kids who want to get involved. Clubs are struggling to cope. If there’s that appetite for sport, if it’s motivating people to get out and be active, is it something that we could have given a bit more to?
When you look at the amount of athletes who went to the Olympics, it’s not a lot of money. I don’t mean to compare sports or bash sports but, when you look at GAA, rugby and soccer, Olympic sports tend to be the minority sports and you have to go to such a high level to even get recognition. Athletes like Rhys McClenaghan, they’ve to go to that level in terms of people going, ‘hang on a second, these guys are actually good’. Usually, it’s something like, ‘oh, are you still doing the running thing’, and you might have competed at a European or World Championships!
The summer that we’ve had really showcased what the Olympic movement is all about, and what it does to a country. It was like Italia ‘90.
What have you lost that you would like to have back?
The ability to run fast! And I miss the social element that went with competing. Being around like-minded people. The people I trained with day in, day out, were all on the same page. Life was a little bit simpler then. We’ve just been talking about the budget and with three young kids, you’re asking, ‘how will we pay for all this?’, and you’re always watching the pennies. And you get to the end of the month and something else comes in and you think, ‘Oh Jesus, that now needs to be paid for.’
When I go back to that time, when you’re figuring life out – I was very fortunate that I was able to run and do something I loved – but the social connection I had with people back then was fantastic. There were days that were really nice and you were very present. Whereas I think as we grow older, and with kids and everything, you worry about the future.
What’s your strongest childhood memory?
The family home was a safe and comfortable place. We used to go on little holidays to Wexford, those are my earliest memories. And going to my granny’s house. She’s not here now, she’s passed on, but she made the best mince I’ve ever tasted.
Where do you come in your family’s birth order, and has this defined you?
I came last. I’m the youngest of four. It definitely made me work harder. I think it motivated me. It definitely inspired me – you’re always chasing them. You grow up fast when you’re around older siblings. I think even in a sporting context, it played a role. When you’re down the pecking order, you have to act fast if you want your dinner.
What do you expect to happen when you die?
I imagine there’s an unbelievable sense of calmness. It’s peaceful and it’s quiet and there’s no noise. You’re just centred and relaxed. I’d like it to be somewhere where it’s very peaceful, calming and rewarding. I think there’s an afterlife. I think there’s something there.
When were you happiest?
I’m happy now. From post-career, when I retired was probably a bit of an unhappy time. I wasn’t really sure where I stood in the world, my purpose, or identity. But I think now I’m in a really good place.
Even in Paris, people ask me now, ‘how did you do it. How did you know what questions to ask?’ I think I was just in the flow. It didn’t feel like work. There was just something very natural about it. As much as it was hard and busy, there was nowhere else I wanted to be.
Which actor would play you in a biopic about your life?
Russell Crowe because Gladiator is my favourite film.
What’s your biggest career/personal regret?
I moved to America in 2010, trying to better myself and improve myself. But I went for the wrong reasons. I didn’t trust my own gut. I listened to other people’s opinions and it didn’t turn out well for me. From a career perspective, I got very badly injured over there and it was the beginning of the end. My biggest regret is not listening to myself.
Have you any psychological quirks?
I go to a counsellor. I went every week in 2016 and I still go every second week now. You’re just dealing with the aftermath of a career, understanding who I was and my new purpose and figuring out things.
It’s like any routine and structure. You see it in recessions. You saw it in Covid. When things change so rapidly. In my situation that’s what happened. You wake up one day, you’re an elite athlete. You wake up two weeks later and you’re wondering what you’re going to do with the rest of your life.
They say athletes die twice. You have to come to terms with that. It took longer than I thought.
