Coolmine celebrates 50 years of changing lives through drug recovery

President Michael D Higgins with Coolmine CEO Pauline McKeown and Coolmine Lodge chairman Alan Connolly as the President visited Coolmine Lodge where the charity marked its 50th year supporting communities with recovery from alcohol and drug addiction. Picture: Robbie Reynolds

Some 15 years on, it is still difficult for Bronagh to admit that she had put drugs before her own son.

Trauma she herself suffered in childhood led her to take substances to cope. 

Shattered relationships and numerous attempted suicides followed.

When she landed at the doors of Coolmine, a national drugs charity, her life began to turn around.

Now, Bronagh McBrien is speaking at the 50th anniversary of Coolmine in an event attended by President Michael D Higgins.

“Coolmine taught me very basic skills: paying bills, cleaning, communication, but most importantly taking responsibility for my actions,” she said. 

“I began to identify my feelings and deal with them as they came up in a positive, beneficial way.

“I’ve been 15 years drug-free since January. 

Recovery gave me back my family. I have been given a second chance.

"Just as Rome wasn’t built in a day, years of trauma’s impact isn’t undone in a day.” 

She has been working with vulnerable people dealing with substances and has volunteered in orphanages in Belarus. She educated herself and is currently studying at DCU.

“My family and friend relationships have been restored to a point I could never have imagined,” she said, adding she was working with women in Coolmine's Ashleigh house.

Humble beginnings

Ashleigh, and a sister Coolmine project in Westbourne House in Limerick, are the only women-and-children residential treatment centres in Ireland.

The charity now has sites across 14 locations in the East, Mid-West and South-West regions.

When it opened its doors in Dublin in 1973, it was dealing with a handful of clients. That number has grown to more than 2,200 in 2022.

Other figures show that Coolmine received a total of 2,653 referrals, some of which would have been directed to other services.

Of these referrals, 1,396 were in the East, 995 were in the South-West, and 262 were in the Mid-West.

'Everyone should have the opportunity to overcome addiction'

Speaking at the event in Dublin, President Higgins said: “Coolmine’s success lies in its core belief that everyone should have the opportunity to overcome addiction and lead a fulfilled and flourishing life.

“By providing a range of quality community and residential services to empower people and their families to overcome addiction and support long-term recovery, the staff at Coolmine have offered, and continue to offer, a lifeline to those struggling with the day-to-day challenges posed by addiction.” 

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Graduates of Coolmine also spoke of their experience of addiction and the impact the charity has had on their lives.

Coolmine CEO Pauline McKeown said: “This is a huge moment in the history of Coolmine, and we are privileged and grateful to President Higgins for attending and engaging with the work that our teams and volunteers do in Coolmine to create pathways of hope for individuals facing addiction.”