Shane O'Connor, pictured during his time at Ipswich Town. _(Image: Newsquest)_
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Former Ipswich Town player Shane O'Connor has spoken for the first time about how his gambling addiction sent his life spiralling out of control in this exclusive chat with **Ross Halls**.
The Irishman moved to Portman Road from Liverpool in 2009, having been signed by Roy Keane, and went on to make 22 appearances during his spell with the Blues.
O'Connor was released by Paul Jewell in 2012 and went on to return to his native Ireland to play for multiple clubs - but under the surface he was fighting an addiction that caused problems in his personal life for over a decade.
He lost hundreds of thousands of pounds gambling and at one point tried to take his own life, before finally turning himself around and seeking help.
Here, he tells us his story in his own words - from how his addiction started, to hitting rock bottom and his long journey to recovery.
Shane O'Connor, pictured signing a contract at Ipswich Town. _(Image: Newsquest)_
**EARLY SIGNS**
"My gambling started in my second season at Ipswich Town when I was left out of the team by Roy Keane after I tore my hamstring while I was away with the Republic of Ireland U21s.
"I was out for a couple of months, but I remember meeting Roy in the corridor and he said I told you shouldn't have gone away with them and you're not going to kick a ball for me, but there was nothing I could do about it.
"So I was left at the squad on Saturdays which made me start developing this habit of putting bets on at 3pm on matchdays, instead of travelling.
"They would be only smalls bets at first and remember I started to win and called them money-making Saturday's for some stupid reason, but I kept winning.
"I ended up being back in the squads again at Town and once I was back amongst it I didn't put any bets on and had no interest in it.
"Even when I went back home to Ireland and saw my friends betting on horses and dogs, I couldn't believe they were throwing money away on that.
"It then got to the stage, where Keane got sacked and Paul Jewell come in and it was obvious that he didn't fancy me as his first words to me were 'You're a Roy Keane guy.'
"So I knew I was in trouble from the start with Paul and I was left out of the team completely.
"That's when my gambling really started to kick on again - only now when I look back do I realise that was the start of my long problem with gambling."
Shane O'Connor in action on his league debut for Ipswich Town at Sheffield Wednesday. _(Image: Newsquest)_
**MOVING AROUND**
"I left Ipswich at the age of 21 and got £20,000 from the club for the remainder of my contract and went through all of that betting on football, from Premier League and Champions League games.
"At this point I was playing for Cork City and I didn't think I had a problem because I was gambling my own money - but when I look back I was deeply unhappy how my life was, because a year before I was playing in England, and now I was selling my stuff to gamble.
"I then moved to Shamrock Rovers to play, but that was a bad decision as when I got paid on the Thursday, I would spend it all the afternoon I received it.
"Sometimes I would plan ahead knowing I would lose but of course I won sometimes - when I didn't I made sure I had beans and bread that would do me for a week.
"I would ask my mum for money which I shouldn't need to do because I had been paid, but I was spending it all on gambling.
"Sometimes you would win and when I did I was as a high as a kite, but football was the furthest thing from my mind at this time and couldn't care less about being in the team.
"My entire life was taken over by gambling, but at the end of 2012 I had no club so I ran out of a source of income.
"I was back living at home which was a sucker punch and had this pressure around me where I am from, (people) looking and saying 'how have you ended back here and in this situation?'
"I struggled with that hugely and my parents started to see signs, so they pushed me to go to GA (Gamblers Anonymous) meetings in Cork, but it didn't work because at the time I felt I had no problem with gambling - which, with hindsight, was only the start of the dangers that came."
Shane O'Connor in action during the infamous snow game against Leicester City. _(Image: Newsquest)_
**DOWNWARD SPIRAL**
"So at the start of 2013, I was earning no money and too proud to go on social welfare, so I was either having to get some money from my mum or I would take money to feed my problem.
"During this time I broke up with my girlfriend of a few years, lost my friendship group and relationship with my family was deteriorating because of my gambling.
"I was depressed as my whole life had turned upside down and in this period I was selling all my stuff from Ireland caps to Ipswich jerseys and training kits to get some money which, when I look back, I regret.
"I came close to returning to England when I had a chance to go on trial with Notts County under Chris Kiwomya, which in the end didn't work out, so I went on to sign for Northern Irish side Portadown.
"This is where my gambling started to escalate because I was betting on everything non-stop and even asked the club for a couple of weeks advance to pay for my bets.
"It came to January 2014 where I went on trial at Derry City, but again my head wasn't right and I was shocking so it didn't work out so I was had no club and nowhere to go."
Shane O'Connor, pictured playing for Ipswich Town. _(Image: Newsquest)_
**'I MADE THE DECISION TO KILL MYSELF'**
"I was staying in a hotel in Lurgan in Northern Ireland which I stayed in for two weeks and all I was doing was going to sleep and waking up gambling, doing that same cycle everyday.
"One night, Man City were playing Chelsea - I will never forget it because I put the last bit of money I had to on Man City to win but they lost. So I remember that night I made the decision to kill myself.
"I had 39 tablets on me so I laid them out and took them all. I remember waking up in the middle of night getting sick and going back to sleep - and I remember being so annoyed that I had woke up in the morning. I had written letters to my family.
"The hotel staff knew something was wrong so I got myself out of there and ended up texting my dad to see if I could come home, but I had no money or bank account.
"I remember asking a girl that I was seeing off and on to ask for some money which she did and put me on a train, if she hadn't I don't know what would've happened.
"I didn't know what to do with life because football was all I knew, I had never finished school and didn't have any qualifications."
Shane O'Connor made his final appearance for Ipswich Town against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. _(Image: PA)_
**RETURNING HOME**
"I was back home with my parents in Limerick, where I had some restrictions living there but it was fine for a couple weeks before I started getting some money through social welfare this time and got a back payment for a couple of months - and I gambled all of that.
"I went on to work at the docks, which was a very enjoyable job, and I was playing League of Ireland football again to earn some extra money, but I was still gambling all the time.
"But my time at Cobh Ramblers was my most enjoyable time playing outside of England because there was a great group of lads and we had success.
"Late 2016, I made the decision to get a good full-time wage at my job in the docks and signed for Waterford, who were paying well, so I was earning two wages at the time.
"This was a good opportunity to put some money away and put together a plan for the first time since leaving England, five years prior to that."
Shane O'Connor in action for Ipswich Town. _(Image: Newsquest)_
**STILL GAMBLING**
"Despite my fresh start, I remember my first weeks of wages from football came and I thought I would just try to double it with some bets - but that didn't work, so I tried to use my other income on gambling too.
"Like a flash, six months has gone and I hadn't saved anything, still hadn't paid off some debts because it was all gone - so even with two full-time wages there were times I was left with nothing because of my gambling.
"I started to borrow money from people too which I didn't need to do because I was gifted two full-time incomes but I wasted it in that year.
"I wasn't seeking any help. Did I know I had a problem? Probably, but I probably didn't care, I was angry all the time and deeply depressed.
"I struggled with life, I put a lot of pressure on my partner Holly, I was probably leaning on her too much, she had a little girl before I met her and I was probably another child because I wasn't able to look after myself.
"But somehow we kept getting through, obviously I had my main job which kept my head above water and allowed me to keep going with my addiction because I was able to feed it.
"Morning, noon and night I was gambling. It was the first thing I would do when I wake up and if I had cash, I would go to the bookies.
"If I had no money, it would affect my whole week until I got paid and could gamble again. I can't stress enough, it was all I wanted to do.
"I then started using my partner's money from her credit union and never saw it back because I was just gambling it.
"I was completely overtaken by this addiction - but I still hadn't admitted it."
Shane O'Connor battles for the ball at Nottingham Forest. _(Image: Newsquest)_
**MOVING AGAIN**
"Me and my partner then moved back to Cork, where I started to play for Cobh Ramblers - which I really didn't want to do, because for the first time in my life I was unfit.
"I started a full-time job too that I hated, which was home care. The people I met were lovely and it was a fulfilling job - but just couldn't get my head around on how I ended up here.
"I would think back to how I was playing in the Championship for Ipswich, playing at different grounds.
"My fondest memory of playing at Portman Road was when you run out as a left-back, you would clap to the fans and they could clap back, it was one of my happiest memories.
"I struggled hugely with that, the realism that I wasn't a footballer anymore."
Shane O'Connor celebrates with his Ipswich Town team-mates. _(Image: Newsquest)_
**FAMILY AND LOSING MONEY**
"By 2019, my daughter Ava was due and I said I wasn't going to bet again, I didn't want to bring my child into this.
"However, a week after she was born, I had put a bet on which cost me a few thousand and put me into another rabbit hole, gambling again.
"2021 was a big year because me and my partner had twins and during this period, we were putting money into a credit union which we got up to £10,000.
"I would say let's not look at it for six months and see how much we have later - but as a gambling addict you're a compulsive liar and that's what I was doing all the time.
"My partner got a statement and our twins were only three months old at the time and all the money had gone, because I spent it on my gambling.
"So at this point, we had nothing to show for the hard work we had done, (and we had) four kids and were renting.
"So Holly took over the money and told me to get help - which I agreed at the time, but a few weeks later I was gambling again."
Shane O'Connor, pictured during his time at Ipswich Town. _(Image: Newsquest)_
**HITTING ROCK BOTTOM**
"I continued that trend, kept gambling and started to borrow off people, because I didn't have the money to do it myself, so my holes got a bit deeper.
"2023 to 2024 was the worst year of my gambling because it was my life to gamble and borrow money, which I still owe some people now.
"At this point, I had zero respect for anything, I would tell any lie to gamble and put a bet on. I don't know how I got out of it because I was 24/7 stressed.
"My whole life was thinking about it. My partner tried to get me to go to meetings, but I would just go to the bookies around the corner instead and I wasn't trying to help.
"I hadn't spoken to my family for 18 months because of my gambling, which was hard on my partner because we had four kids and no support network.
"I had another excuse for not needing to go to treatment because I got asked to coach the Cork City under-17s, which I loved doing and brought me so much joy in my life.
"But it only masked my problem because I was working and coaching, but when I was at home I was gambling. so I was barely there for my family which I can imagine was hard on my partner as she was doing everything.
"It then all came to a head, I wasn't just chasing money but I was speaking to other women because it was all part of the chase in my addiction. I didn't want to do anything but my partner saw and she kicked me out of the house.
"At this point I had hit rock bottom because I had lost my family and destroyed everything, I couldn't see away out of this.
"Again I had thoughts about killing myself with drinking red wines and jumping into the river but my partner messaged me and sent pictures of the kids which kept me sane for the next morning.
"I took a week off work and gambled all week, but I remember calling Keith Treacy, who was another Irishman that had played for multiple clubs in England and struggled with addictions too, and he spoke to me about need to help myself to get better.
"I remember I didn't know how I was going to see the next week as I had gambled all the money so I couldn't stay in the hotel I was in, so I had to sleep in my car.
"But this fella from my coaching gave me a chance to stay in this house he was selling which helped massively and this is where I put my last bet on, which was on a tennis match."
Shane O'Connor now runs his own kids coaching academy. _(Image: Contributed)_
**GOING INTO TREATMENT**
"It's impossible to work out how much much I've lost because you'd win and lose. I tried to put it together and you would be talking a few hundred thousand.
"But when you bet as much as I did it's absolute impossible to keep track of. Because you be up and down up and down. You could win and lose £1,000 ten times a day. It was total madness.
"In the end, I finally got myself some help which was the best thing I've ever done but it was so hard.
"I was in treatment for a month, in that time I was able to see my kids again and my mum visited me which was the first time seeing her for 18 months.
"My partner allowed me to come home and I have to thank her for patience as she was really the only person who stood by me through it all.
"She always saw the person I could be and I would not be where I am in recovery if not for Holly's support.
"She had every reason to leave but chose to support and love me instead. And now we have a good relationship, and I am a better dad to my kids for it.
"I haven't gambled for nearly a year and my life is completely different - it's not perfect but I'm in recovery and I even went to watch Ipswich at Portman Road in January, which was something that I couldn't done before.
"I am working and own a kids coaching business called Fundamental Football which I enjoy and do three to four times a week.
"It takes me back to the innocence of when I played football when I was young and just enjoy playing.
"All I want to do is see my kids grow up and be happy because my rock bottom was not seeing my kids.
"I take each day as they come and ask for help if I need it so I don't go back to where I was before - because my life of torment for 13 years is completely different to the life I have now."