Kevin Cassidy: A breeding ground for addiction

THE SUCCESS STORY….Oisin McConville, pictured here at a GPA initiative to help combat gambling, has faced down his demons, but how many more inter-county players are in that particular battle right now?

GAELIC Life columnist Kevin Cassidy has spoken of just how easy it is for a county player to succumb to addiction.

In a hard-hitting analysis in this week’s edition, the Donegal man points how how the inter-county scene is a breeding ground for the likes of alcohol abuse and gambling problems.

“When we break it down most players who play our game have to have some sort of additive personality in order to make it at the top,” he said.

“Players nowadays must have a compulsive and obsessive nature towards their training in order to carry out the duties expected of them and to reach the top. The problem is that addictive and obsessive streak can sometimes be channelled into something more sinister.”

The full article is in this week’s edition, available in shops or online here.