You have our attention.
When Philly McMahon went on the Late Late Show on Friday night, he had just about everyone hanging on to his every word.
The Dublin player was on to promote his new book, The Choice, where he writes about growing up in Ballymun and his relationship with his brother who died in 2012 at 31 years of age.
The Ballymun Kickhams’ man has been open about his brother’s drug addiction and last night was no different as he detailed what it was like growing up knowing his brother had a drug problem and the sledging that he received on the pitch:
“For other people that have a family member that is an addict, it’s okay to come out and say ‘I’m not embarrassed, I shouldn’t be embarrassed of somebody making the wrong choice,’” McMahon said.
“I would have loved to see a Dublin footballer come out when I was growing up and say, ‘Do you know what? It’s only a bad decision that your family member has made, don’t be embarrassed about it.’
“I felt that it was something people had over me, if I got into a row with somebody or an argument with somebody they would say, ‘Yeah, your brother’s a junkie.’
“When I went into Dublin development squads or even Ballymun Kickhams, I just felt, ‘why am I the only one that has a drug addict brother’ – so that was quite tough.
“It was really tough speaking about it, the first time was at the drug policy consultation. It was the first time I got emotional, speaking about being embarrassed about John but it was something I had to do because I do feel there are so many young people out there now that are feeling the same way and the more people that we get with profiles to speak about it the better.
“I was marking a guy and he felt that saying my brother overdosed from drugs and he was a junkie would affect my game but ultimately it empowered me, I played a very good game that day.
“We all make mistakes, it just happened in that moment and I don’t think he meant it. Essentially, John was with me when he said that to me.”
Dublin footballer @PhillyMcMahon on why it was so important for him to open up about what happened to his late brother John #latelate pic.twitter.com/be8zpi4r9R
— The Late Late Show (@RTELateLateShow) October 13, 2017
Along with being a successful footballer, McMahon is a successful businessman and uses his profile to raise awareness about drug addiction which is telling about his character but what he said after his club’s All-Ireland final loss in 2013 really sums up the measure of the man.
Last year, McMahon was speaking at a JOE Live event:
“We got to an All-Ireland final. Just to put that into perspective, we all have probably seen that Leicester City have won the Premier League this year, imagine them winning the Champions League next year, that’s how big this was,” McMahon said.
“The whole of Ballymun was there that day, we got beaten in the last 30 seconds and I got into the middle of the huddle and what I said to the lads was:
‘We lost the final today, the big thing that we’ve tried to work for all of our lives and I’ve lost my brother this year – but I’ve gained 26 other brothers.’
“That’s when I said to myself that things are going to change, I’m going to try to live my brother’s legacy. I’m going to talk about him, I’m going to help people.”
