RTE’s Ultimate Hell Week star Rory O’Connor told how he almost found himself homeless and living in emergency accommodation.
He has carved a career in comedy on social media with over one million fans with his GAA sketches and he’s not afraid to satirise real issues.
The 34-year-old told the Irish Mirror: “In 2019, we were renting and the landlord had to sell the property so we had to move out.
“But there was nowhere affordable in my local area to rent so we had to move back in with my parents.
“If we didn’t have my parents there, we could have well found ourselves in emergency accommodation or whatever.
“I remember putting it on social media at that time, just for other people to make them aware. They just think of stereotypes when they think of homelessness but it can happen to anyone because of the lack of houses etc."
Rory also said people are wrong to think a homeless person fits a certain profile. He added: “People automatically think drugs or crime is the reason you end up on the street but it’s not.
“It can happen to anyone in different circumstances, if there’s nowhere to rent or the rent is too high.
“We bought a house last August after saving the money for the deposit while living with my parents.”
Now he is urging the nation to dig deep for the Shine A Light Campaign for Focus Ireland, supported by Bord Gais Energy and will sleep out in his garden with his family on October 15.
After combating his gambling addiction and tackling his mental health issues, Rory admitted his resilience has helped him on Ultimate Hell week.
He said: “I’m not on the same level of fitness or athleticism as the people on that show.
“What I knew going there was I have a strong mindset. So by being in a lot of dark places over the years, with self doubt and online negativity, I’d build that up in me head.
“When things weren’t going well on the show, I had resilience to know what this feels like.
“I bounced back a couple of times on Hell Week, when I just wanted to hand over my arm band.
“You need to struggle in life to build that resilience, it can’t just be given to you in a college course. You have to fail and learn the hard way.”
After he fell apart on Hell Week, Rory admitted his honesty helped his team mates learn to embrace vulnerability.
He said: “After that tough interview I was very emotional, Ryan Andrews kind of spotted me and didn’t say anything and said, I saw where you’re at.”
