Brian O'Driscoll was a guest on Saturday night's Tommy Tiernan Show.
The former Ireland captain spoke poignantly about a friend who died by suicide 12 years ago and a recurring dream he has which features that friend.
O'Driscoll's response was prompted by Tommy Tiernan asking: "Have you experienced many crises?"
"That was probably as big as it's gotten," said O'Driscoll.
"In some ways, because of the actual circumstances of how it happened, and it was such a bolt from the blue... Ultimately, you don't have the answers. You just have to accept it, that it was... like a moment of madness...
"It's mad, I've got a recurring dream that I get every five or six months, I'd say. He comes back into it, and he's just been away. It's actually lovely. I'm not sad when I wake up. It's kind of nice, that moment - I'm kind of relieved.
"The whole thing never made any sense. It's just having him back, 'Ah, that makes sense, you went away' rather than the finite alternative. At least he was back. I was like, 'Even if you're not going to hang out with me any more, at least I know that you're alive'. That gives a sense of comfort."
O'Driscoll also spoke about the joys of being a parent.
"You want to make the most positive impact you possibly can on your children," he said.
"You look to your dad, and the things he did well, and continues to do. You try to take those traits.
"For me, the big thing is time, giving my kids time. It's easy to say no to a football match. I played a couple of games with my six-year-old this afternoon, and as I was leaving to come here, he asked for another game.
"I said I couldn't, that I had to go and do an interview but, 'If you're up at eight o'clock, we'll play a quick game'.
"It's those little moments that you think are insignificant but they're not. They make a big deal in their heads. It's just time given to them. It only takes you five or 10 minutes when you give them a good pummelling!"
While his wife, Amy, was in hospital recently having their third child, O'Driscoll and his other two children spent an evening camping out in the car.
"Kids don't remember nice hotels," he said.
"They remember the friendships and the great times."
You can watch the full interview with Brian O'Driscoll on the RTÉ Player.
See Also: Did Saracens' Relegation Help Scotland To Shock England Victory?
