Philly McMahon has won five All-Ireland titles with Dublin. His sporting success has come from a great deal of hard work and dedication, and he has also faced his share of adversity.
His new book, The Choice, deals with some of these difficulties, including the death of his older brother John, who struggled with drug addiction.
John died in 2012 and was just five days away from entering rehabilitation for methadone. Philly spoke to Matt about how his brother protected him from his problems: "John pushed me away from him as much as he could whenever he was on drugs."
"I've never been tempted because of the pain I saw John go through. Having the choice to go into sport made it easier for me to say no."
"I suppose when you've had adversity in your life it's very easy to make the right decision, but if you haven't, it's probably easier to make the wrong one."
Growing up in Ballymun, Philly witnessed the damage drugs can do to people's lives - not just to his brother, but several of his friends.
"Although a lot of people in society think it's their fault and their choice, a lot of the time the choice is made for them."
Philly also spoke about how he repeated his Leaving Cert at the age of 20 and went to college at DCU. He explained, "When I was younger the thought of going to college would have been non-existent."
It's clear that he is grateful for the opportunities sport has given him in life.
"I'm a person that wants to strive for things that are impossible. I'm very grateful for getting out of bed in the morning and to be able to use sport as a platform to help people."
