I kept wearing a smile and was known as a joker but deep down I was really a TOTAL MESS

Former Cliftonville star Jody admits heartbreaking 10-year battle with booze almost cost him his life

FORMER Irish League player Jody Lynch has opened up on the crippling 10-year alcohol addiction that drove him to the brink of death earlier this year.

Lynch, who lifted the title with Cliftonville in 2013, was rushed to hospital in April after suffering kidney and liver failure following a three-week binge.

It was a crossroads moment for the popular West Belfast man who hopes speaking out about his “near death experience” helps others avoid a similar fate in the future.

“I hadn’t eaten for weeks and was drinking anything I could get my hands on – bottles of vodka, gin, wine or beer,” said Lynch. “I was drinking myself into oblivion to numb the pain. I ended up at my grandparent’s house and was hallucinating and vomiting every few minutes.

“My Grandad rang for the ambulance and I was taken to hospital where tests confirmed I had major problems with my kidney and liver.

“I couldn’t walk, my face was bloated, my lips cracked with dehydration and I couldn’t keep down a sip of water. It took a week of treatment to stabilise me.”

To understand how Lynch found himself scrambling for life at the height of the Covid-19 crisis, you have to rewind back to the start of a promising Irish League career.

A lively winger with Cliftonville, the Lenadoon man who turned 31 yesterday, fell to the temptation of alcohol – and to a lesser extent drugs – at an early age. “I would have drunk with mates as a teenager but between the ages of 18 and 20 it started having more of a hold,” he said. “The problem really kicked in when I was at Cliftonville. I was

21 when I got my chance in the first team and I was really hiding my drinking at that time.

“It reached the point where I needed a beer every night. At times I was drinking until 4am or 5am on a Saturday morning and getting up to go and play.

“I wasn’t doing myself justice but at 21 you feel you can get away with it. That soon changes though.”

Lynch’s Irish League career fizzled out when his addiction worsened after making a move to Carrick in 2014. “Alcoholism is a progressive disease and it was getting worse,” he said. “I kept wearing a smile and I was known as a joker but deep down I was a complete mess.

“I loved team nights out and being around football became an excuse to drink but when everyone else was going home I was looking for more. I was getting up on Saturday dreading going to the game because I was trying to make myself look fresh. Before games I’d be sick in the toilet.” Lynch, who ended up at his local club St Oliver Plunkett after spells with Donegal Celtic and Crewe, first entered rehab two years ago after seeking help from a high profile relative.

A chat with his uncle Philip Mulryne (inset), a former Norwich City winger and now a member of the Dominican Order, saw him spend three months at Newry’s Cuan Mhuire Trust. “Prior to going into rehab was my lowest point,” he said. “I was waking up in strangers’ houses after blackouts and my first thought was, ‘More drink’.

“I was letting my family down, I couldn’t hold down a job and any money I did make went towards my addiction. I felt worthless, alone and suicidal. I told Philip, ‘I need help’ and went into rehab for three months. It helped me, I was off alcohol for seven months and was attending AA meetings.

“I cried, did what I had to do and was getting my life together. Things were good but I fell into old habits and the binges returned. That led me to where I was in

April.”

Lynch is now eager to lead a new life of redemption for his family, partner and three young daughters.

“I know it’s all or nothing for me now,” he said. “I’m three months without a drink, I’m doing my AA meetings and that’s how it has to be. My main motivation now is to be here for my family and my kids.”