At Ashbourne Community School, we have been lucky enough to have Tony visit our school for the last number of years to speak to our TY and LCA students. Tony is a pleasure to work with. He has an incredibly important message to convey to both students, staff and their families. His story will no doubt save countless numbers of young people from drowning in gambling addiction. Gambling is a huge social issue, and once students are working they can began to gamble. Catching them early is so important. The students and staff who hear Tony’s story are blown away by his courage to tell his story. Without doubt the most useful and important workshop we have on our TY Programme. Continued success Tony. The country needs more people like you.

Tony’s talk was incredibly engaging. Students were absolutely enthralled by his story. It is obviously a powerful message and a strong lesson on gambling addiction, but the delivery in the form of an interesting narrative offered so much more. At the end of the talk, our students were really interested in learning more about supports, addiction and mental health services and the rehabilitation and prison systems. Tony’s story had it all, and most importantly it had a powerful message about getting help when you need it. I would highly recommend Tony for a really enriching and impactful student workshop.

Students really enjoyed the session with Tony around addition and his story. The talk was very compelling and students were extremely engaged throughout even asking numerous good questions at the end. The key learning students took from the talk was about understanding the psychology of gambling and recognising the potential signs of a problem, either in themselves or others.. Students enjoyed the personal nature of the talk and how even at the lowest of points, it is possible to get support and help to turn things in a positive direction. I would recommend this talk to others as it offers great opportunities for students to learn about themselves from other peoples’ experiences.

Tony will hopefully become a regular part of our transition year programme. Many thanks Tony for the engagement and giving your time to build awareness of Gambling harm in particular online Gambling considering the devices our students have available to them 24 hours a day.

I just wanted to thank you for your recent visit to Dunshaughlin Community College. Through your open and honest account of an arduous life journey, you really impressed upon our students the dangers lurking behind that simple first bet. You completely captivated your audience and explained the horrors of addiction without judgement.

Your experience was insightful and frightening but also hopeful and inspiring. Thank you for being so generous with your time and for sharing your story with the students.

We would be delighted to have you back next year, if you are available.

The students said it was the best talk they ever had