The case resumed yesterday/today but the Dromore and Tyrone corner-back was excused from having to attend. I was still projecting this image of us as the perfect family, where we had everything and wanted for nothing. McCarron also spoke about the incidents of violence mentioned in the book as well as the fact that "anger is a massive part of me". With the teams due to meet in the league and the championship, maybe Derry were already thinking: ‘McCarron can be targeted now.

It would make Daddy even angrier, but it was our only way of trying to stop something which we were ultimately powerless to do. It was an awakening of sorts, but a compulsive gambler’s acknowledgement of his problems has a certain cut-off point. The teenager's father said he is furious with the DPP's decision and in an interview with Independent. The Tyrone GAA player said he did not realise the girl was underage when they arranged to meet using the mobile dating app.The illness took such a grip on McCarron that he was forced to leave the country but the addiction led him down an even darker path and into a world of total depravity where he was willing to do anything for money. In one elaborate scam he went door-to-door asking neighbours for sponsor money for a skydive for a fake cancer charity. He said his client was out with a friend after they completed an exam however bar staff refused them service. At seventeen, you can get trapped in the fog of alcohol exploration, but gambling always dictated the journey I was undertaking. This is a completely separate issue to me appearing on the show to speak about my autobiography 'Out of Control'.

He also asked the court to note that the footballer was recovering from a serious gambling addiction.

I was a cautionary tale in everyday life, but being a Tyrone minor insulated me from the hard truth I needed to hear. Time will heal everything else and he will be reassured that Mickey Harte (left) is offering support. That moment was the beginning of the first real sense of shame, the first real heavy awareness of guilt. The footballer said he soon afterwards received a threat from a man on behalf of the IRA over his activities.