GAELIC GAMES:The scale and frankness of Oisin McConville's confession of his gambling addiction has not only rocked the GAA but also woken it up to a potentially widespread problem. McConville claims his addiction is not isolated, and although kept quiet for about seven years, it has left him with debts of more than €144,300.

The Armagh footballer, and highest scorer in Ulster championship history, made the startling revelations in a BBC website interview yesterday, ahead of the publication of his autobiography titled The Gambler. During the interview McConville called on the GAA to increase the awareness of the problem, in the same way they have been addressing alcohol abuse.

"I know for a fact there are a lot of people in the same situation as me," he said, "and just need to come forward and admit it. Okay, their problem might not be as drastic as mine, but hopefully if my book can help them in any way then that's a positive thing.

"The GAA have put a big effort into addressing the alcohol problem, but on the other hand, nothing has been done on gambling . . . It is a hidden problem, and generally no one else knows.

"The GAA maybe needs to go out into the clubs and the counties and say that if there is a problem we maybe have somebody here who can help . . . And maybe we will see more people coming forward."

In recounting his addiction, which was finally addressed after a five-month treatment at a Galway clinic, McConville described how the problem "spiralled out of control" after Armagh's 2002 All-Ireland win.

He said: "There was one day when I'd lost maybe £10,000 (€14,400). I went out to the car and gathered together maybe £8 and went back (to the shop) and had another bet . . . When I was driving home, the diesel light was on in my car and I almost didn't have enough to get home. At that point, I just said to myself, 'I can't go on like this any more'.

"But it's not a problem that goes away either, and you can quite easily slip back into it. So you do have to keep the guard up the whole time."

He also described how he's been "eaten up" by his gambling problem, and found himself betting on "anything that moved": "I was trying to portray to the general public everything was brilliant, that I was playing great football and that it was great to be in the limelight. But the first thing you hear when you go to Gamblers Anonymous is the way your life has become uncontrollable due to gambling.

"That was exactly what it had done. My life was totally unmanageable. It had taken me from one of the highest points of my life to just rock bottom . . . I had no pride left, no self-esteem."

He said he gambled "horses, poker games - anything that moved" before his family's intervention started him on the road to rehabilitation: "They were very good. They got me to spend three months in a place in Galway and that was where it all started for me."

Although McConville is 32 next month, he is still considering another year with Armagh. McConville's senior career stretches back to 1994 and includes four All-Ireland titles with his club Crossmaglen - and the record Ulster championship scoring tally of 11-197.

"If I feel fit enough and still feel I have something to offer then I would like to go another year, and would consider going back if I was still wanted. But that's something you won't know until the pre-season training and next January or February," he said.