'Don’t say there is no hope' — Ex-Cork prisoner inspires drug-users by staying sober
Picture: Rock Linehan A He File Was To And His In Drugs In Ricky O’donovan Cell Bottom Dan Hit Died Prison When Baby Addicted Cork Had Just
Eighteen months ago, Ricky O’Donovan hit rock bottom when he was in a cell in Cork Prison addicted to drugs and his baby had just died.
The Knocknaheeny native had been in and out of the prison system for most of his young life. He was first jailed when he was 13 in Oberstown. Since then, he has been behind bars for 14 Christmases.
As a teenager, he said, playing sports did not do anything for him, but used to get a “buzz from taking drugs, robbing, getting in trouble, getting locked up and courts.” But just under two years ago, Mr O’Donovan turned his life around when something inside him said, “This is the moment, it's now or never, Ricky.”
He reached out to treatment services, started attending Narcotics Anonymous meetings, and started getting sober.
Today, Mr O’Donovan has not taken “any substance into [his] body” for 18 months and has a baby girl due in January. He also runs a TikTok account where he encourages other addicts to get sober through his own experiences.
“Since I was 13, I have been using substances, and then to live clean and sober, I did not know how to live,” Mr O’Donovan told 96FM’s Opinion Line on Thursday.
“I was in a number of treatment centres over the years, and I never wanted to be clean. I just wanted to keep my mother happy."
Mr O’Donovan shared that he started sniffing petrol when he was 13 before he started drinking and taking drugs.
“And then it escalated into harder drugs. I ended up using crack cocaine, heroin, tablets, every single day,” he said, “It was heroin that brought me to my knees.”
He thought he was “going to die” at some point in his life and never thought he was going to get sober as he was in a “dark place”.
“I used to be sleeping in sheds, bags of rubbish to keep me warm. My front door was open to go back, but I didn’t want to put down the substances,” Mr O’Donovan said.
When things couldn't get any worse for Mr O’Donovan, he knew he had to change his life. After seeking treatment, and getting sober, he said he got his children back and a key for the front door of his mother's house where he currently lives.
Mr O’Donovan said he only started his TikTok videos a couple of months ago, and he started getting texts from people saying they got sober after watching his videos.
“I was in town one time and ran into some people on the street who said, ‘Ricky, I’m going to treatment because I’m watching your videos.’
“I used to be sitting exactly on the side of the road, the way you were, there is hope there for anyone. Don’t say there is no hope," he said.
Mr O’Donovan said he is no longer “living in a nightmare anymore” and that he can get up in the morning and go about his day. “If I could get clean, anyone can get clean. You just need to put in the work. This does work."