Niall McNamee and Oisin McConville caught up recently on the Carrickgollogan forest trail in Kilternan.
They met up as part of their Movember rucking challenge and, over the course of their walk up the Dublin mountains, the pair reflect on relationships, gratitude and addiction whilst looking to the future.
It’s fitting in that sense, regarding the future, that McNamee and McConville have had similar pasts.
As inter-county Gaelic football forwards, both men struggled with crippling gambling addictions but have now come out the other side.
Sharing and owning up to their problems was a big part of their recovery and it was on this rucking challenge where they discussed the challenges they’ve encountered along the way, and the roads they took to recovery.
“Do you know what I used to be terrible for, years ago,” McNamee tells McConville.
“I didn’t realise it at the time either, but self sabotage.
“Things in my life might have been going well at the time but I’d be going like ‘no, this doesn’t feel right. I don’t deserve this bit of happiness or luck.’
Without really realising it, I’d start chipping away at something, whether it’s a relationship or whatever, just causing a problem where it didn’t need to be.
“Even to this day, I’d have to be careful of that,” he adds.
Oisin McConville is now a mental health councillor and a Gaelic football manager – he’s now in charge of the Wicklow senior footballers – and he explained how leaving his gambling issues behind him was the only way he could take on jobs like these, and carry them out to the best of his ability.
“For me, I have to be grateful for having a future, because of where I was in the past,” he says.
“What’s different for us now, in terms of the challenges we’re facing is that when we were facing challenges in the past, we would have done it half-arsed.
“We would have had one eye on the gambling and one eye on what we were actually doing. So you’re doing a load of things, not that well, really.
“Whereas now, the freedom that you get from getting away from addiction, means you can focus on these things and genuinely, just enjoy them.”
McNamee, who owns his own athleisure brand twelves, admits that he still has his bad days that he just has to get through.
“Do you ever hear people talking about gratitude?
“And if you’re not in the humour to talk about gratitude, you’re like ‘oh, would you ever f*** off? There’s 365 days in the year. For me I’d say, for 320 days, everything goes smoothly.
“But you still have those 45 odd days and if someone came to me during those 45 odd days saying ‘you need to be grateful,’ I’d be like ‘aw would you ever!’
“They’re days that I just need to say, I just need to get through this day now.”
During November many Irish men will be growing a moustache to raise awareness and funds for Movember, the mens health charity partnering with JOE and GAA starts to create the series.
“Back to this idea of identity,” says McNamee.
“Do you ever notice people go away to a different country and they do things they always wanted to do, without the ridicule,” he adds.
“I even do that when I’m on holidays,” replies McConville. I wear speedos and all that! I’m only joking, I don’t wear Speedos!”
Watch the full video below. Movember’s purpose is to confront, challenge and change men’s health to save more men’s lives. Sign up, or donate now at Movember.com.
If you or a family member have been affected by any topic in this video visit https://www.gamblersanonymous.ie/ or https://www.hse.ie/eng/services/list/5/addiction/ for support and information
