Contact
The best way to get in touch is through email...
You can get me by email: john@soberpaddy.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/SoberPaddy
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SoberPaddy
The best way to get in touch is through email...
You can get me by email: john@soberpaddy.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/SoberPaddy
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SoberPaddy
Hi soberpaddy, I really like your website! and your writings. So, I have a critique about your piece on verbal instruction. To me the references to masturbation etc were more dominant than they should have been..?.. Thats all. (maybe thats only cos Im ur sister and dont wana know about you doin somewun up the ass in the shower!?!) Otherwise..tres bien my brother..I love your writings bout dad. they make me cry, and make me miss you, and remind me of how much of him is in you…Its a really good website..maybe some more day to day blogging..or even week to week?…Id like that anyway!! Your poetry is nice too..not as hard to understand as some of the ones from days of yore..The video was good too.. It all reminds me of my 6 mths off the jar, and the ups and downs u go through.. Is your goal to be alcohol free for the remainder of your life? or to be able to use alcohol under ur control?.. im interested to know.. I found that I resented not being able to have a drink because of a selfimposed penance..Now I drink in a controlled way, like how u said u did in thailand and I dont always drink when I go out. Its so different to how I used to be.. I use the alcohol, n it duznt use me..Anyway..thats all for now!
Hello!!
I think your website/bloog is very good, very real and very helpful.
you’re full of wisdom.
I love you and miss you.
Hi lenny how you doing great to see your web site. I suppose you heard I am in trouble in hospital in Lisbon and Beaumont and now in rehab in DUnlaoire I think your right drink sucks I have a lot of injuries. Hope they can fix me I think they can. Well done poet. Nicky
Well Lenny,
Whats the story man? read all your stories there…..thats some journey you have been on bud. hope your keeping well. I’m playing for Offaly now with Niall. All is going well and still able to play with syls cause the aul lad is a biffo. Im off the drink now two months too and very proud…its funny that the longer you go on the more you dont miss it…your adventure or new begining is slighty different though obviously as your distractions are far more tempting then mine, at least i have the distraction of football….give me an email and we catch up.
great to see you on the blog, love the hair cut haha
Story Joxer
NIce one for having a read and a look – it’s a work in progress and a bit of a laugh – I’ll send you an email with what’s going on over here – keepin tabs on you bud, great to see you playing intercounty. Wouldn’t get away with this haircut at home!
Lenny
Howaya Lenny,
Fair play to ya buddy. Great to hear you are doing so well and doing it sober. The light is less bright now, but it shines for longer!
Hasta pronto mi amigo
howdy coz! you old poet you….
Hi John,
I’m sure you’ll be a help and inspiration to many.
It takes balls to be so open and put yourself out there, in your blog, poetry and in your choice to no longer follow the herd.
Good luck with all of it,
e.
Dude.
Good work…very strange timing with sending this to me….I have recently given up the booze, ciggies and a couple of more bad habits I had!!! I am feeling fantastic and I don’t know why anyone actually drinks!!!
Well, I am sure I’ll see ya soon for a soda n lime!!!
Love your work.
Take her handy!!
Maz x
Hey Mazza
Im sorry I’ve been such a stranger – I’m proud of you giving up these things – lets meet up and chat about it all over a cappucino and a tonic water. Gerrup!
I was just on the phone to Johnny and I was telling him about your site. Good work buddy – keep it up. We were reminiscing about old times and he came up with a wonderful idea – you could do a before and after analysis of the booze. We reckon we can provide photographic evidence: Pat’s wedding, The John L Stage Show while on the skiing holiday etc, etc.
Whatcha think? 🙂
Peace & love,
John C
Ha! I was only thinking about doing two of the very things you talk about. Defo gona explore the link with sex, how much you get and how much easier women are when drunk! There’s also how it gives you dutch courage – loads and loads of stuff..
If you can come up with some juicy evidence Im very up for the before and after possibilities. It’d make for good viewing if nothing else..
Thanks for the comments buddy
Hope all’s well in the land of porter and plain
I miss our conversations about Brendan Behan and Shane MacGowan… How do you think they would have fared in a world without alcohol? Do you think their output would have been as prolific? Is there an intrinsic link between the ‘great’ Irish writers and the drink? Is there a romance associated with that type of person: the drunken, doomed Irish poet? Is it all in our heads?
John, you and I have both been around long enough to know that in some situations drunken disaster can be fun – we have been those soldiers, we have been THAT story that everyone tells their friends.
Do you occasionally miss the debauchery? Do you miss the white heat/white noise of being drunk? Do you miss the level that you can get to when you’re out drinking with your friends? Do you miss the complete insanity of it all? Do you miss the bizarre, incomprehensible connection you can make with fellow drinkers?
I am, as always, just curious!
Peace & love,
John C.
Indeed we did wax lyrical about the greats…Shane MacGowan and Brendan Behan were two notable drunken Irish masters of the written word. Lest we forget that Flann O’Brien was a man visciously gripped by the powers of alcohol, and sure wasn’t he one of the finest men to be gripping a quill and inking his thoughts on the world.
It is very likely that these men would have been different creatures altogether if they had not been enamoured with the beautiful trip of insobriety. It is in this world that they discovered themselves and who they are. It is by virtue of this way of being that they were, and still are, cabable of creating such lucid poetry and prose.
But I think that when these men wrote their great pieces, they would have to be relatively sober. Writing well and consistently needs clarity and a focused mind. Although they are inspired by their notoriously drunken lifestyles, when they actually sit down to write, could they be drunk beyond belief? I’m not sure they could be. Inspiration from the vicisscitudes of the drink lifestyle yes. But creating because of it – no. These men are genius’, regardless of their levels of intoxication.
So in answer to your question, I do think that we fabricate this “ideal” poetic Irishman. He is instilled in us with all the rest of the stories we create, tell and are told. He exisits in our imagination, the air, the pub and in the very words we read. We are attracted to the querrolous, profane sot, who scribbles poetry of zeGods because he epitomises a part of us we deeply envy and would like to be. The flawed hero who triumphs against adversity. The underdog who struggles against circumstance and addiction to create a magical world. Insofar as this is in our heads, then they are in our heads.
I hold my hands up and admit openly that I miss the random madness and interconnectivity of drunken abandon. It is a level of rambling coherent lure and love that is seldom replicated in the sober mind. I miss it all. I see less of my frriends now because of it. But the cost for me, does not out weigh the benefit. It’s a simple equation which I now accept as part of me.
I liken it to breaking up with an amazingly sexy voracious woman. One you know will ultimately lead to your downfall. She will break your heart and cripple you. So you break up with her before she fucks you up.All the same, it’s great to have known how good a lover she can be….
I miss your loquacious ways my friend.
Lenny,
what’s the craic – good to hear from you. Just watched the video – pretty deep! will read the blogs in next few days – will keep me busy in work!
I’m gonna forward Ski a picture of your haircut so your gonna have to sleep with one eye open cos you know he’ll hunt you down and shave it off!
I’ll forward the website to some of the other lads.
Take it easy.
Mossy
Mossy
Whats the craic man – been watching your recovery from injury on hill16.ie, not that exciting to say the least…hope you’re back in action for champo….
Pillar: In terms of a haircut we could demand more
Ski: Yeah (starin at ya with the evil eye)
Talts : Jaysus siam, ha, wudya getha haircut
Ski; Yeah (not even blinking)
Startin to looka little like Dublin Gerry! All good man – hope alls good with ya
Lenny
Shit man
we’re all grown up now. Who could ever guess that from all the maddness comes such a calm and collected John. Oh some of those night will live long in the memory. By the way Number 2 is on the way!!!!!!
Howaya Lenny,
Holy shit man I feel a bit quilty, I was with you for a lot of that drinking and you seemed fine to me !! If I had of known you were so fucked up I would have tried to help !! Anyway I’m glad your on the right road and all is good your misses seems to be the best thing that ever happened to you but let me tell you your seriously punching above your weight there horse !! (only buzzin!!). Look after yourself, stay sober and stay happy.
Lots of love
Rafa
xx
Well Rafa,
Between you me and the internet world, I dont think I was ever that fucked up me ould mucker!! Sure all we had was laughs ha??? It’s all good…don’t let her know I’m a blagger will ya, it’s cushy as it is!
You better bring home that Europa league or I’m gonna turn against ya
Gerruup
SOber Paddy
Paddy,
As I say before we have quality, we are working hard in every training session and we try to win our next game – fact.
Leinster!!
Your abilities never cease to amaze me!! Website is brilliant – you defo have a career in journalism ahead of you I think!!
Hope all is well, sound like it is horse!!
Nice one KG
Was gonna throw a mention in about a few nights in the Red Box had manies the blue moon ago – could be a few funny stories to come out of it ha!!?
Life is good horse, hope you’re keepin well, and you’re trainin hard for something…maybe a comeback for the seniors!!!?
Good Man Len.
I see the you’re gaining a serious following here. well deserved its a great site. Hope everything continues to go well with ya. I’ll be watching with interest. KG is right (for once) your abilities “never cease to amaze”, keep her lit.
Best of luck.
Nice one Degs
Hope all is well for ya. I’ll answer the call when you take over as senior manager, dust off the boots and give it one last lash for reliving the glory years. Life is good man, hope you’re keepin D busy and poppin out some more little Dereks
Take her handy
Howaya Man, I tell ya that blog made me laugh, and I also told you to stop throwing those sugar cubes and if I had of gotten up in time I probably would have had the irish coffee !! Anyway its good you can look back at incidents like that and draw strenght from it, I’m looking fwd to hearing more funny stories and your take on the event now with a clear sober head on ya, keep up the good work and ill chat to ya soon man, take it easy.
Kenny
Kenny
Looks like you could be infor a promotion with Rafa being booted. If I hadn’t been locked out of my room all night then I might have had a different head on me – not sure whos fault that is!!!! Remember tryin to burst the door down at one stage….whoever was in there was putting up a serious effort to keep me out! Some laugh.
Anyways..nice one Kenny, hope you get the job and bring the glory days back
I’m sure someone else has already mentioned this but there’s definitely a book in this story somewhere… and if anyone I know is the man to write it, it’s you my friend!
With a bit of a publicity kick from an odd radio station here or there, I’m sure that our very own John L would be a superstar in no time… whether or not that that’s what you envisaged when you started this is kind of beside the point I reckon if it brings more people to the site…
Peace & love,
John C.
Hi Sober Paddy, Thanks for visiting my blog and providing such useful suggestions; I intend to take your advice. You have a great setup here and I’m very impressed. Maybe in the future the Irish will not only be praised for their theme bars, but also our contribution to alcohol recovery blogs 🙂
Well lenny
it seems a long time ago now that we were sittin in mr ryans class for english. I do remember you were always great at the writing. The videos and articles you write are class. I have to say as well they are makin me think of some of my nights out over the years- lucky to get through some of them in 1 piece.
Keep them comin
Donal
Ah Donal
Mo chara…an bhfuil tu go maith? Many blue moons since the old Mr. Ryan days. It’s all good though. Heard your livin it up still in Landan town. Hope you’re enjoyin yourself. Thanks for checking out the site. I’ll keep the waffle comin alright.
Tog go Bog e
Lenny
Hey Man,
Disovered your YouTube blog and this site through your interview with Des Bishop, a very funny and intelligent guy… I’m very impressed by your other posts, and if I say that the journey you’re on is one that strikes a chord with me, I think you’ll understand…
Your ease in front of the camera, your ability to discuss complex feelings in a simple and often amusing way and, if you don’t mind me saying, the fact that you come across as a rather attractive and personable bloke are obvious from the start. Less obvious is the honesty and bravery it takes to frankly admit to lapses in behaviour and the continuing issues you have with this problem. You have my respect. I shall continue to drop in to your sites and I wish you all the best.
Regards to you and yours, SF
Hi
Love the site and the telling it like it is attitude.
Not sure if you’re aware of the Alcohol & Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP) Programme in the GAA but it’s running for the last few years and aimed at reducing the harm associated with alcohol and other drug use.
The website is http://asap.gaa.ie/
Keep up the good work.
Brendan
Hey Brendan
Thanks for getting in touch – I wasn’t aware of the ASAP site – Just had a look thgere and it is a great set up. I know that most of the Dublin players I played with had no idea it existed – I certainly didn’t. I will include it in my recommended sites and do all I can to help promote it.
Are you Brendan Murphy who playes with Carlow and a former Swan? If so, best of luck at the weekend. We’re all rooting for you’s down under. Them Aussies need to be taken down a peg or two!
wowza…John I just realized….the Morrisson!? We worked there together back in the day? I was the redser (or one of them) in Halo.
Wow, man, you’re bringing it!
SO happy for ya
Peace
Jill
Hi John,
Just found your site and videos today. Great stuff boss. Gives me a lot of food for thought. I’ve been away from Ireland for 15 years and havereally bought into the ‘Paddy on foreign soil’, feeling it’s my identity to be the big drinker. Thanks for taking the time to make these blogs.
Cheers,
Seamus
love yer stuff man,
im comin to Sydeny next week to do a show bout a rambling irish man who gets sober on the road to Melbourne!
https://www.facebook.com/update_security_info.php?wizard=1#!/event.php?eid=193628510679813
Hey Sober Paddy, I looked for a better way to contact you but couldn’t find it. I just wanted to mention a cool “days sober” widget I had made. Please email me and let me know what you think.
Here is the widget rehab-programs.org/widget
great stuff lenney sober paddy haha keep up the good work pal
Just discovered your blog this morning whilst loafing on the sofa with my ipad after an 8 mike run.
854 days sober here in a London , working class London fella surrounded by booze all my life now leading the sober is cool mantra to all my friends !
Haunted by the total waste of my life I have given to alcoHELL 25 years of it , so sad.
Great blog glad I found it.