The Galway native made his mark with Brighton & Hove Albion, scoring on his debut against Tottenham Hotspur. It looked like Ireland and Brighton had discovered another star, but his career took a downturn.
Loans to Italy and several moves to second-division teams in England have made it difficult for Connolly to establish himself in football since his debut in 2019.
Nevertheless, Connolly’s most productive period came during a successful loan at Hull City last year, which led to a transfer to Sunderland.
This week, Connolly spoke with Sunderland’s media team about his off-field struggles related to alcohol.
The Ireland player first acknowledged that scoring a brace for Brighton was both the best and worst day of his life, as it made him buy into the hype. He also mentioned that he became difficult to be around, living the lifestyle of a footballer without actually playing the game.
“(The game against Spurs) was one of the best days of my life, but also one of the worst because the following five years were difficult,” he told the Sunderland club website to mark World Mental Health Day this week. “I just stopped working and stopped doing the things I should have kept doing. I started to believe the hype, and I just didn’t turn into a good person after that. I was tough to be around.”
The Ireland forward went on to explain in the video that the excitement of winning and playing football faded, and instead, the dopamine rush came from drinking heavily after matches.
“It felt like my buzz used to come from football and to win games and to score goals, and it got to a point where the buzz was more from drinking alcohol than going out on a football pitch,” he said.
“I used to look forward to the games finishing so I could have time to go and have a drink and socialize. I say “socialize,” but it was just an excuse to go and get drunk, to go straight to alcohol, and that was where I got my buzz from, whereas before, it was always the buzz of football and being around an environment like I am now.”
The situation became overwhelming for Connolly, who was then at Hull City, and he admitted that the issue was bigger than he could manage.
“For three or four years, that just wasn’t there. I couldn’t do it; I couldn’t live the way I was living. It was killing people around me, to be honest. My family, my friends. Mainly, it was killing me, really.
“I had one of my best seasons last year at Hull, but off the pitch, my life was a mess. The manager at Hull, to be fair, always looked after me and always tried to help. But it just got to a point where it felt like life wasn’t worth living; it wasn’t a big dramatic thing, but it was just that my life was so unmanageable, and I couldn’t control what I could do and couldn’t control my alcohol.”
Connolly then checked himself into an alcohol addiction clinic and later signed with Sunderland. His primary goal was not to play football but to reclaim his life, with football being a bonus in his view.
“I just said to my agent, “I don’t want you to contact any clubs. I’m not doing this for football; I’m doing this so I can get my life back, and if stuff in football comes with that, then that’s a bonus,'” added Connolly.
“It wasn’t even the football that was taking the biggest battering in the end; it was my life, my relationships, my friends. Everything was just failing and falling apart.
“When your parents are calling you, and you’re not answering calls because you know you’re breaking their hearts, it’s time to realize that you’ve got a problem. It’s an addiction, and the toughest thing I ever had to do was go in there.
“The PFA helped me pay for my treatment, and I know some people might not be able to afford it, but it’s important to know it’s not just park benches and vodka bottles. Anybody can get affected by it.”
The complete video of Connolly’s experience is available here.
