OFFALY FOOTBALLER Niall McNamee has opened his heart about his recovery from gambling addiction in the first of a series of searingly honest personal blogs.
In late 2011 the Rhode man revealed that he was addicted to gambling and that it had cost him €200,000. He lost his way, relationships with friends and family were strained, he lost interest in football and ended up €80,000 in debt.
He has been in recovery since placing his last bet on 13 November, 2011 — two years ago today — and he has decided to write about his experiences in a blog about gambling addiction.
“I have no idea what horse I backed or where it ran but what I do know is that it lost,” said McNamee, a brilliant forward and 2006 Allstar nominee, recalling his last bet.
“It had got to a stage that I was no longer able to leave a bookies unless all of my money was gone or the nice lady behind the counter was turning off the TV because they were closing.
“If I was ‘lucky’ enough to have left with some money in my pocket it didn’t matter, I knew I would be back the next day to give it all back. That night, the following morning, my entire day in work, my head would be consumed with thoughts of doubling, trebling, quadrupling my winnings from the day before.
“Whatever debts or troubles I had would be wiped out if I could just have that one big win to get me back on track.
“And I had done it before. There were times when I would have turned the smallest amount of money into a huge sum in the space of a couple of hours That was the problem for me, no matter how much I had lost I still had the belief that I could win it all back.
“But things were different now, I owed a lot of money and the desperation within me made me make very bad decisions. I convinced myself that gambling, the thing that got me into this mess, was going to get me out of it.”
McNamee reveals how he once won €8,000 in three days. He lost it all in a single day. He sold his car for half its value to feed his habit, which started out as a €50 punt every Saturday during his student days in UCD before spiralling out of control.
He spent all his money on losing bets and couldn’t afford to eat so he used to sneak into his parents’ house when it was empty, take food, return home and cook it so that nobody would know.
He convinced himself that this was normal behaviour.
In the winter of 2009 he broke down and confessed what was happening to his father and it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He didn’t gamble for a couple of months but he didn’t discuss his problem with anyone else either and before long he was back in the bookies.
He was, as he says, ‘ducking and diving’ – trying to avoid the back and creditors or anyone else who might suspect what was going on.
He finally confronted his demons and in late 2011 he sought help. He told his father the full story and sought help through Gamblers Anonymous. Then-Offaly manager Gerry Cooney is a counsellor at the Rutland Centre, where McNamee underwent five weeks of treatment, and he was a source of help too.
“The hardest thing for me to do was to admit to someone the trouble I was after getting myself into, financially but more important morally,” writes McNamee in his blog post.
“I had done a lot of things I wasn’t proud of and this was eroding away my soul and my spirit. I knew I was a good person but somewhere along the way I lost sight of the important things in life like my family and friends.
“It is two years since I have had a bet and for that I am very proud and grateful. I will thank God tonight for keeping me safe today and will ask him to do the same tomorrow. I will go into this a lot more in later blogs but as a start I hope this helps. I know one person it has definitely helped, me.”
Read Niall’s full blog post here; Follow him on Twitter: @niallmc14
Good on ya Niall best of luck in the future, takes a strong man to be so honest
Good man yourself… That’s brave of you.
Government completely overlooking the seriousness of the gambling situation in this country. Happy to sing about Paddy Power creating 600 jobs but not ask about why they have to create 600 further jobs. I know lads who started out the same way as Niall, couple of Accums & Lucky 15′s on a Saturday with the boys down the bookies “for a bit of interest” – many can contain it at that but too many others cannot…
Keep blogging Niall, need to show people that help and the ability to change is possible but only if you seek it.
Well done
Well done Niall it so important to get the message out there and gambling especially can be life destroying in very short period of time often silent and unseen. keep it in the day and your story will hopefully inspire many !
By the sounds of it, he never won a bet in his life,the poor man and terrible gambler.
Always bet within your means and never bet what you cant afford to lose.
God gave us brains, use it!
God gave us brains which gives us a sense of understanding… Use that.
James, you obviously didn’t read the part about him winning the €8,000?
More importantly “always bet within your means, never bet what you can’t afford to lose”
So would you tell an alcoholic to “go easy on the beer” or a heroin addict to “take it handy for a few days”
Everybody is entitled to their opinion but Until you understand that gambling is an addiction like drink and drugs, then it’s probably best that you don’t tell people how they should deal with the problem.
James, that’s horrible trolling. Don’t be so disrespectful as to question his intelligence.
Why would you make a comment like that to someone who is trying to deal with an addiction? Not only that but the man is also helping others in similar circumstances … inspiring a lot of people to take the first step in recovery.
It takes a lot of balls to admit to the problem and then deal with it day by day. I think that’s the sign of a man that is using the brains God gave him.
In fairness now Kevin, comparing alcohol and nicotine dependence to gambling addiction is nothing short of a joke.
Gambling addiction is a massive problem in the country. The government will do nothing about it as its a huge revenue stream for them…it will all blow up soon
It always drives me mad when people refer to the racing ‘ INDUSTRY’, the main cause of out-of control gambling in Ireland. It destroys the livelihood of more people than those who earn their livelihood from it.
Some people are amazing with their hindsight and high horses. It takes courage to talk about personal demons god forbid your less than perfect. Good man for showing your soul in such a public domain Abu Niall
I have watched this chap since he was a teenager. One of the most talented forwards in the game. A pleasure to watch as he has it all – pace, power, size,team-work, skill and more importantly the perfect temperament. I can never remember a harsh word from him on the field. If he was with any of the regular All Ireland semi-finalists he would have 5 All Stars. Having watched him play so often it is hard to visualise him having any weaknesses. It looks like he had banished this one and hopefully for good. The best of luck to him.
Well done Niall, very brave to admit your problem, get help and then share your experiences so that it may help others. I wish you all the very best for your future, you’re doing great! Keep strong
Best of luck Niall. Upwards and onwards. I hope you never look back.
Sorry, but real problems out there and his gambling is a lifestyle choice! No sympathy for him, use the brain you got and stop the excuses!
Unfortunately for some people it manifests like a mental illness they are convinced they will always win and are always chasing that “big win”.
Gambling addiction should be treated as a mental illness and the people addicted in this way need help, not people like you scrutinizing how they should use their head. Most of them in their own head aren’t doing anything wrong. They can’t see what others might see, what damage they might be doing.
The very same people will be affected by scrutiny more then others.
Stephen your reply is perfect, You’re the typical bloke around Ireland with the outdated attitude that is responsible for people not talking and getting help with their problems. People are afraid to voice their problems solely because of people like yourself. Thankfully you’re a dying breed.
Errrmmmmm Stephen in case you didn’t read…. He did ….
So says you Joe, I wonder what sympathy an ordinary person with a Gambling addiction would get? If you’re a celebrity, sports person or GAA player, you’ll get it and If not? Tough look Bud, suck it up and get on with it!
Jack, people have been suffering from depression and suicide for a long time. A few GAA players, spoke of their experiences and people sit up to take notice all of a sudden. It’s a welcome attention, to the issue and better late than never. But why must we sit up and listen, when a sports person talks about it and not before hand. Keep barking Jack!
Amazing how some tool always ends up riding in on his horse!!
Don’t know what you’re on about Stephen because there has been loads of articles on the journal about depression. No matter who they are I still would read the article.
@ stephen why must we listen when a sports star… well why not? His blog is explaining just cause he was in what looked like a great life he wasn’t. For the record his blog didn’t start today it started 2 years ago when his best friend read out a letter at his club GAA agm admitting to his addiction. What you read today is how he has coped since and how reading his story could possibly help someone in a similar situation.
Im guessing you don’t volunteer on helplines in your spare time Stephen……
80 grand in debt, so he spent 120 grand of his own money? can’t see why he was attracted to gambling if he was able to rustle up that kind of money at such a young age! For someone his age that’s like 3 very decent years after-tax salary before spending on anything. Still fair play for him being honest.
Why would anyone down-vote this comment? 120 thousand euro *is* a lot of money for someone in his mid-20s – by declaring that 120,000 euro isn’t a lot of money, you just make people who think it is a lot of money feel like sh’it. It’s getting to the stage where 1 million euro doesn’t excite people, or 10 million euro. Years ago life was more exciting when you could dream of owning vast amounts of money. But with broadband internet our brains are all blunted to pleasure and excitement and even billionaires just evoke feelings of meh… the modern world has spoiled everyone to the point that they are incapable of being impressed by anything …
You don’t seem to allow for the fact that he may have won thousands along the way which he in turn lost. He obviously didn’t gather that entire sun himself, much of it would have been won and lost. Eg winning 8k in 3 days, losing it in one day.
I wish this guy well and am so glad he beat this addiction. But I just wish people on the journal were as understanding and sympathetic with drug addicts! The amount of poison I read here about addicts is saddening yet somehow if it is a gambling addiction it’s different. I wish this guy all the best and well done him on beating an addiction regardless of what one it was.
Who is he. Never heard of him.
First two words of the article should clear that right up for you. You’re welcome.
Nah, still never heard of him. Must play bog ball or something.