In a Sunday Times interview on August 3rd, Dr Barry O'Driscoll and his wife Beryl told Owen Slot about his dementia diagnosis.
The interviewer wrote: "Dr Barry O'Driscoll devoted much of his life's work to making rugby a safe sport and to trying to limit the threat of concussion. He fought so hard to get his point across that he eventually resigned from his positions of authority at World Rugby, concluding that if they would not listen to him on the inside, his voice would be better heard if he was shouting from the outside instead.
"Then 18 months ago, he was diagnosed with the very condition that he spent his career trying to protect his fellow players from. He, too, was suffering from the early onset of dementia."
To read the full piece (which I did by paying for it - proper order in my view), you'll find it here behind a paywall: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/barry-odriscoll-i-warned-about-brain-injury-now-i-have-dementia-w8k3hkxs9
I was one of many journalists Barry O'Driscoll kindly gave his time to in an attempt to highlight the dangers of concussion and the snail-like pace at which World Rugby has attempted to grapple the issue. Below are scanned grabs of my 2013 Emerald Rugby interview with Barry, which began with my recalling my one and only serious headknock on a rugby field during my playing days with Carrick-on-Suir RFC...
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