Mother of one of 'Two Norries' wrote his eulogy at height of his addiction

Wed, 28 Sep, 2022 - 12:00

Olivia Kelleher

The mother of James Leonard, of the award winning The Two Norries podcast, has admitted she penned his eulogy when he was in the depths of his drug addiction as she feared he would die.

James Leonard and Timmy Long, Cork’s popular podcasters who overcame addiction and imprisonment, are set to appear on a full-length episode of Nationwide on RTÉ 1 on Wednesday.

Majella Gould told the show that she “used to fantasise about James being well”.

“Because when I used to be getting the images of him in a coffin I couldn’t cope with those images. Even though (when he was bad) I did write his eulogy and I did visit him and I asked him what clothes he would like me to lay him out in when he died. “

'Super proud'

Ms Gould said she is ecstatic at how James turned his life around. “I am super proud of him because of his resilience. I thought I would be burying him so many times. Look at him now.”

She said she is also very proud of Timmy and wishes his mother was alive to witness his success.

Last August the friends were named Cork Persons of the month for their work in helping people who struggle with addiction and mental health problems.

Only learning to read and write at 32, Timmy has completed an honour’s degree in construction management, along with two Fetac courses, and runs his own property, maintenance, and construction company employing people in recovery.

Since James became sober in 2013, he has earned a sociology degree and a MA in criminology. He is currently studying for a PhD at UCC.

Timmy said Ardcullen is “a lot quieter now” but when they were young, the road was often a race track for cars. “Our lives could have been in serious danger because of the mischief we were getting up to. They were great times until they started getting chaotic.”

James described his childhood as having been “okay” until his father left home to serve a prison sentence in the late nineties.

The two visited Cork Prison as part of the show. James said that prison was in some ways like an “extension of my community”.

“It was like a rite of passage for someone like myself. It is sad really that our aspiration was to be in a cell.”

He said for prisoners the goal is always to get out but as soon as they do their anxiety levels soar.

I would always go back to drugs within the hour. A taxi from here (prison) to the dealer or to the chemist. To level that anxiety and that fear. I would still be in a miserable life but that was the sad reality for me.

During the show James also visited Blair’s Hill in Cork city, the site of his last overdose. He had taken two bags of heroin and was lucky that a member of the public spotted him and raised the alarm. “Thankfully I made it to treatment and I never looked back,” he said.

Brothers in prison

During his visit to Cork Prison, Timmy said that the last time he was there he also had three brothers who were serving a sentence in the same place at the same time.

“I walked to the landing and I had three brothers on the same landing. And I had a sense of security when I walked in because it can be a very scary thing for somebody to walk in to a prison.”

Timmy said the breakthrough for him was in a cell in the Bridewell Garda Station in Cork city in 2011.

“I remember crawling around the floor thinking ‘where am i going to get my next drug?’ Thinking these bits of white paint on the floor were cocaine. I had a glimpse of awareness and I said ‘what are you doing here? I got up off the floor here and I jumped on this bed. I cried myself to sleep. This was it. I was a broken human being.”

The pair say they are both thankful for the support of the Cork Alliance Centre, which helped them on their path to education.