Tag Archives: gambling

FORMER Tyrone footballer Cathal McCarron will be at Wolfe Tones GAA in Shannon at 4pm on Saturday, where he will be speaking about gambling addiction. McCarron was a sub when Tyrone won the 2008 All-Ireland, while he won four Ulster titles and was twice nominated for an All-Star, before his retirement in 2019. Just over five years ago he released his autobiography Out of Control (which was ghost-written by Clare journalist Christy O’Connor), in which he was candid about his gambling addiction and the dark places it brought him to. The book was an explosive read, certainly one of the most memorable GAA autobiographies, in which he recounted what was a chaotic lifestyle. He says he likes to give talks like the one on Saturday, and he feels it’s important to keep drawing attention to problem gambling. “I don’t do as many as I’d like, but hopefully I’ll get more time to do them. The way things are going the …

SCARIFF Harbour Festival is to be officially opened by Armagh football legend Oisín McConville over the August bank holiday weekend, in an interview with Carol Byrne he discusses his visit to the Banner county, growing up in Crossmaglen and conquering his gambling addiction. BORN in South Armagh in 1975, Oisín McConville grew up in a place and at a time where the sounds of gun fire and the tremors of bomb blasts were so commonplace they were almost part of the scenery. From the age of five he knew to walk briskly past the army barracks in Crossmaglen on his way to school and not to amble or dawdle in the presence of soldiers or police. As he reflects on his time growing up he says he is thankful that this is an experience his kids will never have. As Oisín prepares to come to the Scariff Harbour Festival, an event which bridges the divide between North and South, he …

THREE of the organisers of a teenage gambling awareness workshop in Ennis last week have told The Clare Champion that it is a significant issue for some young people. The gambling awareness seminar at Coláiste Muire involved interactive, peer-led workshops, which were designed by the school’s transition-year class. Among the guest speakers were Barry Grant, CEO of Problem Gambling Ireland, and addiction counsellor Justin Campbell. Shona Hale, Niamh McHugh and Rachel Kennedy, all of whom are transition-year students, played a central role in organising the event. As part of the project, Niamh interviewed a teenage girl with a gambling problem. “You wouldn’t think this girl had this problem. She gambled on online poker. She told us it all started with innocent slot machines. She was like, ‘if you know how to play it properly, you’re obviously going to win’. That’s what she said. She was gambling on slot machines, then internet slot machines and then online poker. “She made a …