Boidu Sayeh explains how Hell Week inspired him to return to county panel

"I needed to get my head right, to fall in love with playing GAA again."

Boidu Sayeh took a break from the county panel this year, but his experience on RTE's hit TV show inspuired him to return to the Westmeath team. The 26-year-old was dogged defender for his county for many years, but admits that he fell out of love with the sport for a while. Despite the fact that Westmeath won the Tailteann Cup last season in his absence, the Rosemount clubman wasn't too annoyed missing out.

"I wasn't disappointed not being involved this year because for me it was more a mental health issue," said Sayeh. "I wanted to sort out my own stuff that was going on.

"I needed a bit of a break from it, I needed to get my head right, to fall in love with playing GAA again.

"The only reason we all play this sport is because we love it. I was not loving it. I didn't really want to be there. It impacted on my season last year, I started playing poorly in a few games and I needed to step away from it to focus on myself.

[caption id="attachment_274333" align="alignnone" width="2048"] Westmeath footballer Boidu Sayeh is pictured at the launch of Zambrero Ireland’s first ever meal packing event which is taking place on World Hunger Day this Sunday.[/caption]

"Now this year I'm eager to get back, I can't wait to get back. I was chatting to John Keane, he said, 'Do you want to come back in?' I said, 'Hell, yeah!" I'm already in the gym ready and eager. I'm trying to get my body right. I can't wait to get back."

The opportunity arose to be a part of Hell Week, a show where you and a group of others have to endure gruelling tasks that test both your physical and mental capabailities. “Being back in that team element was something I missed. It was something I was in from U-12 (with GAA) and it brought back all those little memories. “I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get back with Westmeath. A lot of people said you wouldn’t get back again after taking a year out, but the Hell Week thing, being in a team environment, looking out for each other and stuff, that brought all of it back.”

“We’re unlucky in having a Dublin team that’s so dominant in Leinster, but we really want to bring Leinster back to Westmeath…”

“Everyone wants to be part of a winning team,” he added. “I did miss it but at the same time I was glad I wasn’t there because I don’t think I would have performed as well if I’d stayed on the team, from my own personal health. “But I was at the Tailteann Cup final and super proud of the lads. I definitely believe I can bring something else to the team next year if I get picked.”

* Zambrero Ireland's first ever meal packing event is taking place on World Hunger Day this Sunday. With the help of over 100 volunteers, Zambrero Ireland aims to pack 30,000 nutritious meals which will be donated to people in need in developing countries.