Tommy Tiernan Show recap: Peter Ryan on overcoming challenges after 90% vision loss
Peter Ryan on the Tommy Tiernan Show
Paralympian and ultra-endurance runner Peter Ryan spoke to Tommy Tiernan about losing 90% of his sight at age 20 and the challenges that posed for him.
Ryan has Leber hereditary optic neuropathy, a degenerative condition that affects central vision. He described his range of vision as peripheral only, telling Tiernan he could not see him despite maintaining eye contact during their conversation.
“Even if I put my nose to the mirror I can't see my face because it's my central vision,” Ryan said. He added many blind people avoid eye contact “because it’s awkward” but he seeks it out as he believes it is “the essence of human engagement”.
He said his vision loss led to insecurity and depression as he struggled to adapt to the challenges of living with a disability.
“I didn't know how to be visually impaired or blind,” he explained. “I wasn't secure or confident in myself, I suppose. You're carrying this thing that in your head, it's your biggest insecurity. You think it devalues your offering.”
He said he had therapy and found an outlet in sport again, getting involved in paralympic sport and running, even completing a Malin to Mizen run last October.
“Qualifying is hard, it’s a whole four-year gambit.’
— RTÉ One (@RTEOne) March 23, 2024
Peter Ryan tells @Tommedian just how tough getting to the Paralympics is 💪💪#TommyTiernanShow@Tommedian @petersvision01 pic.twitter.com/aE69rFcMjF
“I found a pure release from going for a run, just the independence I get. It's a daily little win for me versus disability.”
Tiernan also spoke with poet John Cooper Clarke, who described how he writes poems and discussed his struggles with drug use and addiction.
Cooper Clarke said he writes with an audience in mind, seeing poetry as a more verbal literature.
“I always felt that poetry was a phonetic medium anyway, you're not going to get anything out of it simply reading it to yourself. It's got more in common with music,” he said.
Tiernan asked about the rhythm found in his poems, and Cooper Clarke said he “can hear it” as he is writing the piece.
‘As long as you hang around long enough, everything’s on a loop’
— RTÉ One (@RTEOne) March 23, 2024
Poet John Cooper Clarke is enjoying a wave of support recently #TommyTiernanShow @tommedian @official_jcc pic.twitter.com/1LIJ6qiqYN
He spoke too about struggling with his heroin addiction in the 1980s, telling Tiernan he tried to get clean several times before it worked.
“I didn't do it for my benefit. I did it because everybody was worried about me. They wouldn't shut the fuck up about it. I'll be honest with you, I was very upset about getting clean.” He said that today, heroin is “not something that haunts my every waking hour”.
Finally, psychologist and Blizzards base player Louize Carroll spoke about the importance of helping children cope with their emotions as well as providing age-appropriate responses to mental health issues.
She said children can cope through dark times with the right support.
“Kids are smart, they find their way out of dark times with support, with resources. We figure out how to cope, especially when we're young.”
Carroll said she often sees parents who want to remove pain and obstacles from their children’s lives but she warns both are necessary to help young people develop appropriate coping skills.
“When we completely remove obstacles from young people's paths, they remain insulated and then we start to pave roads with cotton wool. And then, in fact, they never really learn how to be in the world.”
‘Sometimes it’s the first time that they cry in the context of how they feel’
— RTÉ One (@RTEOne) March 23, 2024
Psychologist Louize Carroll finds it powerful to work with men who reach out and connect for the first time#TommyTiernanShow@tommedian @louizecarroll pic.twitter.com/EnVXhQgtL9
She said she returned to psychology after a few years as a musician to work in the area of relationships.
“I’d gone through a series of questionable relationships, in my earlier years, particularly with toxic patterns. I reached a point in my life where I thought ‘I need to figure this out because it can't always be the other person, I need to figure out what I'm doing here’.”
