Jacqui Hurley: The greatest challenge I have faced in my life is overcoming grief

Jacqui Hurley for This Much I Know. Picture: Kieran Harnett

We’re a very close-knit family. In my own family, there’s my mum, dad, and my sister Triona. My brother Sean died in an accident 10 years ago, which is still hard to believe. As much as people say life goes on, it really does surprise you how quickly it passes. Thankfully in the last 10 years, we’ve had a huge amount of positives to help us all get through it and a lot of that has been down to building my own family with my husband Shane and our two fabulous kids Luke and Lily.

I think I was born to be in this line of work. My mum and dad would say from a very young age I knew exactly what I wanted to do. As a child, I used to walk around with a cardboard cut-out over my face, pretending it was a TV and telling them the news. I was always fascinated by the media and adored sport. To me, this is the dream job and I consider myself lucky to be doing it.

The greatest challenge I have faced in my life is overcoming grief. Losing my brother was without a doubt the most difficult personal challenge I have had to overcome. I also lost my cousin to Sudden Cardiac Death. The never understanding why is the hardest part in any grief process and sometimes that’s still hard to comprehend. In a weird way, when things don’t work out the way I want them to I often remind myself 'I’m still here, get over it, there’s worse that can happen'. I think when the worst has already happened to you or your family it’s a lot easier to see it from that perspective. 

I’ve gotten a lot out of working with CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) Ireland. It is a charity that helps families that have lost loved ones to sudden cardiac death by offering free access to counselling, cardiac assessments and family support programmes. Having a resource that can offer insight into the cause of why these deaths happen and being a part of a community that truly understands the devastating effects of losing someone suddenly makes a world of difference. Recently I was involved in helping them launch a new freephone helpline that offers a listening ear for those who need someone to talk to. There’s a real comfort knowing that there is free access to these supports.

Jacqui Hurley is a CRY Ambassador. Picture: Leon Farrell / Photocall Ireland

My proudest achievement in life is getting to do a job that I love and having a career I dreamed of. It might sound clichéd but I’m well aware that not everyone gets to do that, so I consider myself very lucky. I made a bold decision in 2006 to move to Dublin, when my only work was a five-minute slot on a Monday talking about the weekend’s sport on a programme called TTV. I’m sure at the time people thought I was mad, but some dreams are worth chasing and I knew this one was.

My greatest quality is being a good listener. It’s not just fundamental to the job, it’s crucial to every relationship I have.

My earliest memory is leaving on a jet plane! I moved to Australia when I was three years old. We literally packed up our whole lives and moved across the other side of the world in the 80s. When I look back now, I see how brave my parents were to make such a big decision. I remember the tears in the airport as we said our goodbyes, knowing it might be years before we’d see our friends and family again.

I would like to be remembered for being sound. 

I’d like to think people will respect that I worked hard and was kind to people, but mostly if they remembered I was sound that would be good enough for me.

The person I turn to most is my husband Shane. He’s like my life coach — a cross between head of operations and Mr Motivator! I honestly can’t say enough good things about him and the kind of person he is. He’s my rock in so many ways.

The life lesson I would like to pass on is to never be afraid to fail, be brave enough to be brilliant.

The greatest advice I have ever been given is to be patient. Sometimes you can work your ass off and it feels like the breaks just aren’t coming. But someday they will, and you’ll be ready.

The thing I am best at is sport. It’s just who I am and it’s always come fairly naturally to me. I love everything about it. From playing, to working on it, being involved in sport is where I’m most comfortable. If I had taken a different fork in the road, I might be working in the music industry. I love music and working in the music industry has always been something that interested me. So if that sliding doors moment happened I’d choose a path like that.

Jacqui Hurley is supporting the launch of the new CRY Helpline service available 7 - 9pm Tuesday and Thursday, 10am - noon on Wednesday and 4 - 6pm on Sunday. To avail of the CRY helpline, call either of the following freephone numbers: Republic of Ireland – 1800 714 080, Northern Ireland/UK – 00 44 80 0640 6280. For more information please go to cry.ie