Conn Kilpatrick has spoken about how he overcame a gambling addiction to win an All-Ireland football medal with Tyrone last month.

In an interview on RTÉ’s Claire Byrne Live programme last night, the 24-year-old recalled how he had racked up debts of over £10,000 on two separate occasions before family and friends intervened and helped him to address the problem.

“I maybe started about 15 or 16 doing a wee bet with my father and my brother on a Saturday just for a bit of craic and for a bit of banter," he explained. 

"Then as I grew older it kind of became more apparent. I was going into the bookies more, I had a few online accounts, I just seemed to find myself in the bookies quite a lot and doing quite more than what had started off as a wee fiver bet that was quite innocent. That’s how innocent it started off and it just got gradually worse.” 

Things came to a head in February 2018 when a group of Kilpatrick's friends stepped in and told his parents about the issue.

“I think people had an inkling because obviously if I was in the bookies quite a lot, with the football, people would have been talking saying ‘did you see him?’ or ‘he’s been coming in quite regularly.’ 

 “Then in 2018, it kind of all came out. I had just borrowed too much money and stole that much money that it all caught up with me. I was maybe saying that I needed to pay the car payment or I was going on holidays and was a bit short and I needed a bit more.

“To be honest, I could come up with a lie as quick as I could do anything. Whatever I needed to say to get it, I probably did say it. When you look back some of the things I said, it was crazy. I wasn’t a great person to be around. I was coming home and if I had won I was in a great mood but nine times out of ten I had lost so I was coming in very moody. 

"Nobody could talk to me, I was always snapping back. I just wanted to go into my room and get on my phone and see who I could borrow money off, the next person, and what I was going to gamble on the next day, what football or horses. I was just kind of trying to think of ways to try and get that money back and get going again."

The All-Ireland winning midfielder received counselling before suffering a relapse in 2019.

“I just woke up and something kind of took over me, it’s hard to explain but I never had the idea of going back on it the night before, the week before, I just kind of woke up and started again.

“My father was just distraught. ‘How can you let this happen, do you not know what you’ve obviously done to the family and the hurt you’ve caused?’ and he was 100% right.” 

He continued: “I’ve been off it now a year-and-a-half and it has changed my life, both on and off the pitch. I can go to bed sleeping at night without worrying about who I owe money to, about where I’m going to get the money tomorrow. I can go to training. In the past I was going to training to probably get away from it and take a break from it, but it was still hindering my football.

"Whenever I was caught it was still a weight lifted off my shoulders and if you’re big enough to own up then you deserve far more credit that you think you’re worth.”

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