Oireachtas committee hears personal story of addiction in sports

Two Westmeath sports people gave submissions to an Oireachtas committee on the prevalence of recreational drug use in sport and measures to address it.

The Joint Committee on Drugs Use, chaired by Deputy Gary Gannon, met on Thursday, November 6, to discuss addiction, sports and well being with representatives from Gaelic Players Association, Irish Homeless Street Leagues, Sport Ireland and BRAC.

Jennifer Rogers, former Westmeath Ladies GAA player and the current Head of Player Development and Wellbeing with the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) and Westmeath senior footballer Luke Loughlin addressed the committee.

Ms Rogers spoke on behalf of the official representative body of Gaelic games players (male and female) in Ireland who advocate for over 4,000 inter-county participants. The GPA official outlined the huge demands for support, both on and off the pitch, from the body's members.

She said the GPA operates on four central pillars: player representation, player welfare, player development and equality.

“Addiction and substance misuse are complex multifactorial issues that can profoundly impact both athletic performance and personal well-being,” Ms Rodgers said, “the GPA believe that sport can be both a protective factor and a potential pressure point in this context.”

The GAA players body focuses on prevention, education, early intervention and holistic well being support to address the issues of addiction and substance misuse.

The committee was told that although the rates of illicit drug use among elite athletes are not necessarily higher, the consequence can be more severe. One-to-one personal development supports, mental health literacy and confidential support are offered to members.

The committee was told that players are subject to testing and that recreational drugs, like cocaine and cannabis, are prohibited.

Ms Rogers said outreach programmes, like workshops for young people, are important: “The GPA believe that sport can be a powerful platform for positive change in how society views and addresses many social issues, including addiction.”

In his address to the committee Luke Loughlin gave a first person account of addressing addiction.

Mr Loughlin plays football for The Downs, hurling for Clonkill and also plays at senior level for the Westmeath county football team. He co-captained The Downs to their county final win this year and was named on the Tailteann Cup team of the year.

“I'm currently in recovery from alcohol and substance use,” he opened up to the committee. He shared his story of how he turned his life around.

“From birth I have had no relationship with my biological father,” he said, “As a 30-year-old man this sentence doesn’t carry any weight or leave any marks but as a child I always felt I was missing something.

“I struggled in my childhood and more so in my teens with the feelings of trust, abandonment, not being good enough and constantly looking for validation or attention. Ultimately, I could never be myself.”

Mr Loughlin gave a frank account of how he fell into addiction: “At the age of 14 I tried alcohol for the first time with my friends and the feeling that it gave me - it gave me confidence, allowed me to be someone else and was able to take me out of my own head.

“I never got that feeling as good since. For the next few years my behaviour continued to get worse. I left school at 16. I was out drinking and gambling most weekends and started to experiment with drugs such as pills and cocaine. Sport always seemed to be the only release where I felt good about myself without having to drink or take drugs.”

He said although support was available he ignored it: “My family had recognised there were issues but every time they brought anything up, I would play it off or I would go to some sort of therapy and just lie. As an adult I tried everything apart from going to get real help.

“I emigrated to America, I joined the army, I went back to college but everywhere I went my problems, and those feelings always followed me.”

The grip of addiction grew stronger: “As the years went by, I spiralled out of control, I wrote off two cars, and was lucky to be alive and to have not hurt someone else, could not hold down a job and was dropped from Westmeath panel numerous times.

“A video also circulated of me passing out on the side of a train tracks. I had started to develop psychosis, and a real low point was feeling that suicide was my only option.”

He said the GPA played a part in his recovery: “In 2021 my lovely mother told me that she couldn’t do this anymore even though she loved me, she had 3 other children that she had to take care of, and it had been 10 years and that if I finally didn’t go treatment, we had to cut ties.

“So she contacted the GPA, and they got me into treatment in Cuan Mhuire Athy straight away. In treatment I was able to fully focus on myself without any outside distractions.”

Upon reaching the milestone of one-year sober he was part of the Westmeath team that won the Tailteann Cup. He said this highlighted how widespread his battle was among young people: “I did an interview about my football and sobriety.

“I could not believe the amount of people that reached out and told me they struggled with similar sobriety issues to me and from that moment I have used my story to try and help others. I now work as a Game’s Promotion Officer for the GAA, and I do talks and workshops on alcohol and substance abuse.”

Senator Evanne Ní Chuilinn asked Mr Loughlin if reports that the post match celebratory drug use was on the rise. The Westmeath player said though he was removed from the situation, he was anecdotally aware of the issue: “There is definitely a problem, probably more so at club level, with recreational drug use. It's probably linked to the build up to a final, or the let down after a final. You have the situation where people stay off drinking for a while and after it it can become a problem.”

In concluding the meeting Deputy Gary Gannon thanked all the contributors for lending their expertises and said the committee will benefit from the insight they had gained from the submissions.