From addiction and homelessness to 'life is amazing': how recovering addict will celebrate father's day
Of Pathway Construction Ciarán Coolmine Cjk Pleted Kearney Partner With Several Where (left) And To Working Engineering Ceo Mckeown Fullam A Pauline With (centre) Courses Ciarán Engineering, Coolmine, Conor Work He Of Has Cjk Is
Ciarán Fullam will celebrate father’s day more than most on Sunday — knowing just how close he came to losing his kids and family through addiction.
Ciarán, 30, began his battle with addiction aged 12, drinking alcohol, then smoking weed, taking ecstasy and cocaine, a route which ultimately lead to homelessness for two years.
“I found comfort outside the home and in the company of the older lads. I felt I belonged. It was almost like monkey see, monkey do,” he said.
He underwent his first treatment programme at 18 but admits it was just a box ticking exercise. He became a father at 23, his second child was born three years later but addiction overshadowed his life and he was separated from his children, a separation he accepts now was in their best interest.
“My life was like a hamster wheel. It was nothing but toxic,” he said. “I remember sitting outside a shop, waiting to give a urine sample to get into one of the treatment centres, and seeing people walking by in their suits and in their work gear.
But he completed a drug treatment program at Coolmine in August 2022 and graduated in September 2023. His progress has been remarkable: he went from seeing his children for two hours every second weekend to having them every second weekend.
He also had the opportunity to represent Ireland in the Homeless World Cup. He now lives in temporary accommodation provided by Focus Ireland, and he hopes to get a permanent home to gain full-time access to his children. Recently, he took his boys on a two-week holiday abroad.
A pivotal part of his recovery was his participation in the Parents Under Pressure program which gave him the tools to become a better father and helped him address his resentment toward his own father, an alcoholic.
“Life is amazing now,” he says.
“I have a home, a job and my family back. I have a life worth living. It’s not perfect and I make mistakes but I hope my story shows that anything is possible. People often think there’s no way out but there is always a way out."
He is working with CJK Engineering, a pathway-to-work partner of Coolmine, where he has completed several construction courses.
How will he spend father’s day?
“I’ll be visiting my family home to see my dad," he says.
Anita Harris, Coolmine’s deputy head of services, said Ciarán’s journey from addiction to recovery highlights the power of perseverance, the importance of support systems, and how recovery can reunite families and offer a second chance at fatherhood.
Coolmine worked with 2,523 people last year across its centres in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Kerry — a 29% increase since 2022. Alcohol accounted for 43% of those cases, with cocaine accounting for almost a third — 862 people, up 9% on the previous year — with cannabis third on the list.
Of those who sought help for alcohol addiction, a fifth also had cocaine dependency or addiction.
Almost three quarters of all admissions are male, and over a third of them are in full-time employment, with Coolmine data showing that cocaine is an emerging problem amongst those working in the trades.
Ms Harris said they have restructured their programmes to run at night and weekends to meet the needs of those in full-time work.
And while 92 men with cocaine dependency are waiting on a residential place with Coolmine, Ms Harris said there are a range of community and day services available in the community.
“Residential places are in short supply but there is no such thing as no hope. There are a range of services in the community for people who may be waiting for residential places,” she said.