Comedian and actor Tadhg Hickey seeks to break down the barrier between mental health and addiction in his new memoir. 

A Portrait of the Piss Artist as a Young Man by Mr Hickey is out now and describes the actor’s experience with alcoholism and anxiety from a young age. 

Mr Hickey told The Hard Shoulder he had no plans to write a book and only briefly mentioned his alcoholism in a play In One Eye, Out the Other. 

“But I was talking in a few interviews about alcoholism and Deirdre Nolan from Eriu Books heard me,” he said. 

“She said the angle I was going with that alcoholism is a mental illness, weirdly, isn’t talked about in Ireland. 

“There seems to be a big emphasis on drink, but not that much on talk about why we drink or the underlying causes of what makes us drink.” 

Seeing this lack of discussion, Mr Hickey thought he would “be brave and dig deep” and share his story. 

“I'm not trying to teach anybody, and it’s not a self-help book, it’s just my story,” he said. 

“[But] it could actually help someone and help me make sense of my journey.” 

Book recommendations from Tadgh Hickey today! pic.twitter.com/AftRoSfYl0

— Chapters Bookstore Dublin (@chaptersbooks) September 12, 2023

Mr Hickey particularly wants to shine a light on childhood anxiety and the subsequent problems that can emerge. 

“I would have had undiagnosed chronic anxiety as a kid,” he said. 

“I think at the time if we were talking openly in Ireland and someone said, ‘Oh, look, that’s a panic attack’, I might have still been an alcoholic, but maybe I wouldn't have felt the shame I did before I started drinking. 

“I'd like people to read it and maybe see themselves in it to understand what makes somebody ultimate end up with an addiction, understand the recipe of that.” 

Mr Hickey can’t pinpoint the exact moment he realised he had anxiety because it’s always been a part of him – but he could never share it. 

“It felt like something shameful – nobody was talking about mental health in working class Cork,” he said. 

“Then I picked up a drink and I thought ‘I need never feel panic again’. 

“While the other lads thought it was fun, I thought this was a solution to all of life’s problems.” 

Mental health and addiction

Through this discussion, Mr Hickey hopes to draw the connection between mental health and addiction. 

“I still feel a little bit like the two things are seen as separate, when to me they’re just intuitively the same thing,” he said. 

“We have a lot of empathy for people with mental health issues, but for addiction, particularly alcohol issues, it’s a bit more punitive.” 

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