Connacht Tribune
Price to pay for gambling is not simply financial debt
Lifestyle – Dearbhla Geraghty hears how addiction to gambling ruined the lives of GAA stars Davy Glennon and Oisín McConville
Galway hurler, Davy Glennon, watched his team mates compete in the 2015 All-Ireland final without him – he was in treatment for a gambling addiction that had completely taken over his life.
The following year, however, he was back training with the team he had always dreamed of playing for, and had set up a charity to help others who also faced similar demons.
From his first bet at the age of 16, to the beginning of his recovery nearly two years ago, he had become a different person.
“I was being a menace, a compulsive liar, I had no respect for myself, and my conscience was gone,” the 26 year-old says.
“I was living two lives – one that everyone wanted to see, and my own life, where there were dark places – do I beg, borrow or steal (to get the money). It wasn’t me, as a young person, to be a compulsive liar, a compulsive gambler.
“I was ruining my talent, my family, and all those affected by my gambling. There were dark days, days when I just wanted to get out. I didn’t want to kill myself, but to kill that life I was living. There was no light at the end of the tunnel, who could I tell?”
He says that he is not out of the woods yet, that he will have debts until the days he dies, and he knows that it will take years before he builds back up the trust others had in him.
“I hurled in the Leinster final for my county, where every young star wants to be, but I wasn’t in the right frame of mind,” he recalls.
“I was isolated from friends and living between the white lines – once in off the field, I was asking myself where do I get the money. It was a rat race . . . the hurling had painted over all the cracks, and gambling had taken that away from me.”
Despite much intervention, he could not stop the addiction until he had truly accepted his “massive problem.”
His father used to warn that he would end up in the same treatment centre (Cuan Mhuire in Coolarne) as All-Ireland winning Armagh footballer, Oisín McConville – and he did, but only when he actually wanted to be there.
Davy’s recovery began less than two years ago, in July 2015, when he finally confessed everything to his mother. A three-month stint in treatment centre followed, which meant that he missed out on a shot at the All-Ireland final that year.
“There is no point doing it unless you are honest to yourself. It was hard, and when I walked in I was wondering what was I doing there.”
He was ready to acknowledge, however, that he needed to be isolated, and to do the normal things such as going to bed on time – not coming home late, just to avoid probing questions from his family.
He stuck-out the treatment, emerging a much stronger person, and even set up a charity walk, Croker to Cuan Mhuire, to give something back to the community.
“The day the walkers walked into Mullagh, I was preparing for the quarter final – the previous year I had been in treatment. I had to watch Galway getting to the quarter final, and winning it, then the semi final, and the All-Ireland final, parading around in front of 84,000 people – I would have been there, but the gambling had taken all that away from me.”
The talented hurler was one of four speakers at an event organised by TD Anne Rabbitte in Abbeyknockmoy, about an issue that is affecting a growing number of people across the sexes and ages.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
