Keith Walsh: 'Men my age have a lot of trauma they haven’t dealt with'

His departure from RTÉ 2FM left Walsh facing some difficult mental health issues. Therapy followed, and he has since written about his experiences

Keith Walsh, pictured here at Newbridge Skateboard Park, brings his Pure Mental play to Cork, Killarney and Limerick.  Picture: Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland

When Keith Walsh answers the phone from his hometown of Newbridge, Co Kildare, he’s not at home with his wife and kids, but in the midst of late evening rehearsals for his first-ever self-written play, Pure Mental. 

“This is all new language to me,” he admits as he describes the process. The broadcaster and former RTÉ 2FM host actually studied theatre in college, but apart from some appearances in The 24 Hour Plays in the Abbey, an autobiographical one-man show is unexplored territory.