Former Wexford hurler Diarmuid Lyng helps men reclaim their primal wildness
Diarmuid Lyng leading a retreat in Co Kerry
For secondary school groups, he’ll often just have the boys cook spuds and carrots on an open pot to prepare a simple meal. “Most are pretty useless at that,” he laughs. But the cooking is just a way into talking. Sometimes, the parents arrive to collect the boys and Lyng will have the group serve up food.
“The smell was intense. And the hard part is when the deer goes from being this beautiful animal to just ... meat on a butchering table. The actual skinning is a fairly quick process and it’s a very jarring thing to see.” “For sure, it doesn’t sit easily. If we are eating meat at all, the idea of this is to get closer to the animal. To respect the animal. Everything is used in this process. There is a profound respect to the animal in the commitment to use every single part. I don’t know how in two generations we have stopped growing food in our gardens, why we subcontract out health, food, medicine. I don’t see people getting healthier or happier for it.
Over the next two days and nights, the group gradually let their fears and scars spill out. Often it was the usual sources – stoic fathers, childhood traumas, “maybe men who grew up in the last of the rigorous Catholic mentality” that formed the basis for their stories. There were tears, unabashed shows of vulnerability. That group has stayed in touch, which thrills Lyng.
“There was a survival element of it – mind you, for a load of guys from south county Dublin, that may not take much. What, no Starbucks! The camp was very remote. It wasn’t a macho thing. But it was very, very primitive. The big point for me would be that people who allow themselves to be vulnerable can be the most resilient people you can meet. Because, they are able to strike that balance between being able to release that tension and building resolve on facing those challenges.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Government called on to extend support scheme to Wexford communities hit by suspected tornadoA local councillor said the suspected tornado was like a scene from ‘Twister’ or ‘The Wizard of Oz’.
Read more »
Former scout leader acquitted of indecent assault charges in CorkDefendant (63) had denied indecently assaulting then ten-year-old boy by fondling him through his clothing during scout inspections
Read more »
Blackrock College was ‘wild west of private Catholic education’, says former pupilFormer pupil says he was physically and sexually abused by a priest for a year
Read more »