McCarron tells in the book how he became hooked on gambling in his teens and would sneak out of classes at school to place bets. All for just two days gambling," he said. When the footage became public and made newspaper headlines, McCarron said he considered suicide or travelling to Mexico. I walked across the road into a betting office and gambled away half of my earnings."īy 7.30pm the following day most of the money had been spent. "As soon as I was handed a brown envelope with £3,000, that feeling began to dissipate. "When the filming was over I felt physically sick, disgusted that I had allowed myself to sink into such an abyss of degradation and humiliation. All I was thinking about was the money I was going to receive afterwards. "As we had sexual intercourse, I did everything to suppress my real emotions, to dislocate myself from the moment. "The only reality guiding me at the time was the desperation to feed my gambling habit," he said. He described his gambling addiction as "so destructive" that he would "descend into a dysfunctional world". However, he eventually agreed when he was offered £3,000 in cash. He assumed he would appear in pornography with women, and was initially against taking part in gay pornography. McCarron said he received an initial £200 to be filmed urinating. "Anyone in their right mind knows that uploaded material can appear anywhere, but I wasn't in my right mind. They sold it to me on the basis that they only dealt with US hotels, where the porn was exclusive to the hotels' pay-per-view channels. "The money was an obvious appeal, but the risk was still too great. They enquired if I'd be interested in some work. Video: Cathal McCarron wins Irish News All-Star award Mickey Harte gave Cathal McCarron All-Ireland medal in gambling rehab It didn't take me long to discover it was something more," he said.He tells how he had responded to a newspaper advert looking for 'male models'.Ĭathal McCarron tells how he met girl (15) on TinderĬathal McCarron: 'The last thing I am is gay' says GAA man revered as 'gay icon' "The company was based in a fancy office block in north London and looked like a legit model agency. He has made significant strides in his recovery, returning to the Tyrone senior team and receiving a second Allstar nomination this year.īut in an autobiography to be released next week, McCarron describes how he took part in a gay sex video in London to feed his "destructive habit". The 28-year-old from Dromore has spent years battling gambling problems, with two prolonged spells in rehab and regular Gamblers Anonymous meetings. McCarron hasn't admitted to “starring” in the porn video (actually it’s two videos now) but reacted to the news by swiftly deleting his Facebook and Twitter accounts.TYRONE GAA star Cathal McCarron has broken his silence on how he appeared in gay pornography to feed a gambling addiction after fleeing Ireland under threat from the IRA. Unless Cathal has a look-a-like living somewhere in the world, it appears to be him. Just type in #Fergus into Twitter and one can read all the salacious comments, most of which are not appropriate for small children. This week, McCarron was subjected to extensive ridicule via Twitter when it was revealed he had reportedly appeared in a gay porn flick under the alias of “Fergus”. Oisín McConville was the first GAA figure to go public with a gambling problem when he laid himself bare in his harrowing autobiography 'The Gambler'. Almost a third of their calls concern this issue. The Gaelic Player's Association have a counselling service helpline, and after depression, gambling is the biggest problem affecting inter-county players. For some, reality sucks and they will try to escape it through whatever means. Reality for some, is having to deal with crippling addictions that can rob you of your pride, dignity, your moral code, your personality and of your desire to do what you know in your heart is the correct thing. The reality is that while he was gliding along like a duck on water, underneath it was a chaos of flapping and struggling.”Īt the time, it was revealed that McCarron had a serious gambling addiction.įrom Bogue’s October piece on the subject: Sports journalist Declan Bogue said of former Tyrone GAA footballer Cathal McCarron back in October:“To the outside world, it may have appeared that he was a man who had it all.