‘I finally have somewhere to retreat to’: Life after homelessness for Meath man Cian Murtagh
Former homeless man Cian Murtagh at the house in Sligo which was bought for him by members of the Kilbehenny community who started a GoFundMe to buy him the cottage. Photo: James Connolly
Being awoken by fireworks while attempting to sleep through yet another New Year’s Eve on the streets was once a typical occurrence for Meath native Cian Murtagh.
The 31-year-old, however, is now looking forward to ringing in 2026 in the Sligo cottage he calls home. Formerly homeless and sleeping on park benches, Cian has been living in the Sligo residence since October.
In previous years he had been sleeping rough — most recently in Cork — after a childhood spent in state care.
His cottage was purchased through a GoFundme campaign which was launched for the former construction worker early last year. Maeve O’Brien started the fundraising initiative after a chance encounter with Cian.
She had pulled in to offer him a lift while en route home to Kilbehenny in Limerick. While the mysterious passenger attempted to persuade Maeve he was just on a “nature walk”, the reality was considerably darker.
The following day Maeve was confronted by a report on social media highlighting Cian as a missing person. It transpired that the missing man had been spotted in Coopers Wood close to Loughananna in Tipperary.
He had been refusing all help. Nonetheless, Maeve had heard about Cian’s love of hot chocolate and set about making a flask before driving to the woods. After finding Cian there she vowed to start a GoFundMe for Cian and duly restored his faith in humanity.
She set up the appeal with Kilbehenny locals Carmel and John O’Gorman and Moss Fitzgerald who formed part of the search party that found Cian. The hope was to raise enough funds to purchase him a home so he would never have to sleep on the streets again.
Cian said that settling into his new home has been surreal.
“Before, I’d try to sleep through any Christmas or New Year’s celebrations. It used to be chaotic because I was always in cities so there would be a lot of people going out to celebrate," he said.
"You almost feel like a different species in this situation because they're all happy couples in their fancy clothing, while you in contrast are there on your own, lying in a sleeping bag.
"It’s one of the only nights where they intrude into your world. All I wanted was for everyone to leave me alone so that I could sleep through it all."
He said this year he is "starting to feel optimistic".
Cian is enjoying feeling part of a community.
“I’ve had the neighbours over and they are all really nice. It was great to get out the fine china and have the plate of biscuits on the table to make it feel like a real home.”
The 31-year-old said he has developed a newfound love for cooking since moving into the cottage.
“I love being creative and experimenting with different dishes. Now, that I have the means to cook I enjoy trying different things and new combinations. My speciality is garlic cheese chips. Once you try mine you will never go back to the takeaway ones.
"Another thing I love to do is make milkshakes. I’ll buy the bananas and ice cream and throw them all into the blender.”
Cian came to prominence after featuring in an episode of on RTÉ1 last October. The show documented Cian’s journey to transform the property from its previous derelict condition with the help of Harrison Gardner, local contractors, and an army of helpers.
“I’m getting loads of lovely messages from people across the country. People have sent some lovely gifts including the families of the victims of the Stardust tragedy. I got a couple of ornaments and a ceramic Saint Bridget’s cross. People have been really lovely.”
The Meath native is looking forward to the future.
“This is the time to start forming all the new traditions for Christmas and new years. Maybe, when I meet someone we can amalgamate those traditions so they will probably evolve over time," he said.
"There are times when it suddenly hits me that I have my own place to live. At times it’s still difficult to believe.
He opened up about his plans for the year ahead.
“I have a lot of hope for 2026. I plan to get flat out working again. I’m also getting driving lessons so the hope is that I will finally have my licence soon.
"I want to start socialising too. I know that even on the days where I fail it won’t matter because I have somewhere to retreat to when things go wrong.
"Having this stability is really important to me. I know it will help my confidence and allow me the freedom to finally come out of my shell.”
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