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# Outside Leinster House, mothers cry out for better addiction supports and protection from intimidation
- URL: https://www.dublininquirer.com/outside-leinster-house-mothers-cry-out-for-better-addiction-supports-and-protection-from-intimidation/
- Published: 2026-11-06T00:04:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-06T00:03:59.000Z
- Description: The vigil followed the deaths of Philip and Kim English and their sons, Callum, 12, and Jayden, nine, who were killed in an arson attack on their Waterford home on 13 October.
- Author: Eoin Glackin
- Tags: Community Safety, addiction services, drugs, Local Democracy Reporting Scheme

For several years, Eileen would spend long nights awake, afraid that the next phone call would be from the Gardaí telling her that her son was dead.

He had become addicted to alcohol and cocaine, accumulated a substantial drug debt, and was receiving threatening messages.

Then men began turning up at the family home and issuing threats to whoever answered. 

“You open the door, and there's just a man standing there in front of you,” she said. 

Eileen, who does not want her surname used over safety concerns, was among those who gathered outside Leinster House on Tuesday for a vigil organised by Family Addiction Recovery Ireland ([FARI](https://fari.ie/?ref=dublininquirer.com)).

The vigil followed the [deaths](https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/munster/arid-41924803.html?ref=dublininquirer.com) of Philip and Kim English and their sons, Callum, 12, and Jayden, nine, who were killed in an arson attack on their Waterford home on 13 October. Gardaí are investigating a suspected link between the fatal attack and intimidation over a drug debt.

The gathering was also held to remember all those who have died as a result of drug use and drug-related intimidation, and to demand greater protection for families still living under threat, FARI chairperson Breda Fell told the crowd.

It saw cross-party support, with attendance from senators, councillors, TDs, as well as groups like the Union for Improved Services, Communication and Education ([UISCE](https://myuisce.org/?ref=dublininquirer.com)) and the Family Addiction Support Network ([FASN](https://fasn.ie/?ref=dublininquirer.com)).

Among the crowd, supporters held FARI placards, each emblazoned with the name of one of the 32 counties. 

At one point in the proceedings, as Kildare Street's autumn leaves splashed around their feet, Fell called on the attendees to observe a minutes silence, to honour the English family. 

While some families have been tragically left in horrendous grief, others continue to live with intimidation on a daily basis, she said.

“They are the ones that continue to suffer and who are being terrorised daily,” she said.

Fell warned that young people are [being exploited](https://www.dublininquirer.com/youth-workers-look-for-new-ways-to-fight-child-grooming-by-criminal-gangs/) into the drugs trade, while families and communities were being devastated by violence, drug use and intimidation.

She and those gathered on Tuesday are calling for a coordinated response across government departments, with better access to counselling, peer support, financial assistance and even relocation where necessary.

“We are calling for robust and coordinated action across government departments, not in a silo effect as they have been,” Fell said. “We are calling for action that ensures families are not left isolated or vulnerable.”

For Eileen, who is based in Cavan, the consequences of that isolation Fell mentioned remain vivid, she said

Chatting one-on-one after Fell's speech, and a rousing, hopeful sing-song of '"No Woman No Cry" and "Let It Be" led by musician Ro Byrne, rallied the crowd, Eileen remembered opening her front door to find a “very young man” standing outside, issuing blunt, cold threats.

There were further visits, sometimes involving several men arriving in a car. Her son was frightened not only for himself but for his family's safety.

“It was a very, very, very traumatic time, and it affected our whole family,” she said.

For another, Dublin-based mother attending the vigil, who does not want her name used over safety concerns, the fear is ongoing.

Her adult daughter lives in a Dublin City Council flat complex on the northside, where this mother says she has experienced repeated violence and intimidation linked to drug use.

In the most recent instance, last week, a neighbour who appeared to be under the influence of crack cocaine came looking for drugs. When her daughter, who is battling her own addiction, told him she had none, he left, but then returned and broke down her front door.

“She phoned me, she was absolutely hysterical,” this mother said.

## Whole families impacted

Eileen's son's addiction badly escalated over six years ago, early in the Covid-19 pandemic, she said.

He had experienced mental health difficulties since his school years, caused by then-undiagnosed ADHD, she said, and initially found that alcohol and cocaine helped him feel better.

“For a wee while it made him feel good, and then that stopped,” she said.

By then, his addiction had escalated and he owed a large amount of money.

As the threats continued, the family watched his physical and mental health deteriorate.

Eileen recalled an evening when he came out of the bathroom after a shower without his t-shirt on and she was shocked to see how much weight he had lost.

“You could count his ribs,” she said.

His siblings were angry with him, partly because of the distress he was causing their parents, but also because they were frightened for him.

“They blamed him for what he was doing to us, and they were all so worried about what he was doing to himself,” she said. “But we were all powerless to do anything about it.”

The Dublin-based mother at the vigil who spoke about her daughter's struggle has lived with addiction in her family for decades. It was her brother's struggle with addiction that led her to join her first family support group, over 40 years ago. 

Her husband became alcohol-dependent, while her eldest daughter also developed a substance dependency, which would lead to her death.

Now her second daughter is struggling with addiction and mental health difficulties. “It can be a heavily genetic thing.”

She believes the judgement directed towards people who use drugs often ignores the underlying difficulties they may be experiencing.

“I know my husband had a lot of trauma in his early life, but he also had quite severe ADHD and dyscalculia. But he was a lovely man,” she said. “He was a really good man.”

Her husband entered recovery for 30 years, before he died 8 years ago. 

“Nearly everybody that I know \[in addiction\], they have other issues prior to that,” she said.

She believes [criminalising drug use](https://www.dublininquirer.com/how-to-decriminalise-drugs-and-how-not-to-former-us-police-chief-shares-lessons-learned-with-irish-seminar/) compounds those problems.

“It makes people think that they're bad people when in fact, they're [suffering people](https://www.dublininquirer.com/theft-and-drug-crimes-dominate-re-offending-as-research-points-to-addiction-link/) who need support and medical treatment, [not imprisonment](https://www.dublininquirer.com/waiting-list-has-grown-by-almost-80-for-addiction-treatment-at-mountjoy-since-last-year/).”

## People are afraid to speak out

This Dublin-based mother, who volunteers with FARI, said drug-related intimidation had become increasingly widespread during the decades she has been involved in family support.

“In the '80s, it was confined to a small amount of people,” she said. “Now it is widespread.”

She said families from different socioeconomic backgrounds are affected, but those living in poverty are often more vulnerable to intimidation.

“They have less avenues of escape. They have less opportunities to fight back,” she said.

Her daughter's recent experience, she said, illustrated how difficult it can be to get out of really difficult, dangerous circumstances.

After her daughter's neighbour broke into her flat, the Gardaí took around four hours to arrive, this mother said.

They asked her if she wished to seek a prosecution.

“She said, ‘I can't press charges. This guy is my neighbour. I'll do that, I'll be dead, and you won't be around. You won't be able to protect me,’” this mother said.

She said her daughter spent the night barricaded inside her flat, with furniture against the damaged door.

Her daughter had also been badly physically assaulted during the summer and had sometimes stayed at her mother's home for safety.

But that brought additional fears. “Certain people know where I live, and that puts me in danger too,” she said.

Her daughter, who has been working to deal with her own drug use, has been seeking a transfer from her council flat, but the mother said the shortage of available housing has left her unable to move. "She's surrounded by it."

Her daughter's reluctance to make a formal complaint against her neighbour is just one example of how victims feel forced to remain silent, she said.

“People are afraid to talk out because of this,” she said.

## "The lucky ones"

Eileen, who is based in Cavan, said her family eventually found support after someone gave her a leaflet for the Family Addiction Support Network ([FASN](https://fasn.ie/?ref=dublininquirer.com)).

She and her husband attended a meeting and have since trained as facilitators themselves.

“I practically knocked the door down to get in that first night,” she recalled.

The support helped them understand addiction differently, stop blaming themselves and establish boundaries with their son.

It also provided a confidential space to speak with other families and guidance on handling intimidation.

“You think you're paddling your own canoe on your own, but actually you're not,” Eileen said. “There's so many people in the same boat.”

Her family didn’t understand anything about addiction, she said. “I suppose we blamed our son, and we didn't look at ourselves as to what we could do to help the situation.”

“So, when we joined FASN, we were helped to realise that it's an addiction,” she said. “I know they choose to take the drug at first, but they don't choose the misery they end up in, and believe me, they are in misery.”

Her son eventually sought treatment and is now in recovery for six years. He also, with the help of his mother, received his formal ADHD diagnosis.

“As a mother, I am so, so proud of him,” she said.

He now tries to help others, she said, while she and her husband continue supporting families facing similar difficulties.

“We're one of the very lucky ones,” she said.

But she believes the services available to families remain fragmented. “They are disjointed,” she said.

She wants families to be able to find counselling, addiction services and other assistance without struggling to navigate different organisations at a time of crisis. Where you are in the country can also massively encumber your access to services, she said.

That concern was echoed by Fell, chair of FARI, who said the government's [new](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28867796-national-drugs-strategy-2026-2030/?ref=dublininquirer.com#document/p1) National Drugs Strategy for 2026 to 2030 presented an opportunity to improve how services work together and prevent young people from being exploited into the drugs trade.

But she said families must have a meaningful role in assessing whether the strategy delivers results.

Resources are a huge issue and needed on the ground, she said. “Now we could repeat that forever, but unless we're seeing the impact of these actions on the ground, then national drug strategies are not going to be effective.”

“We need people who are most affected, as I said, by the problem. They need to evaluate: Is this working for you? Is this working in your community? Have things improved any way for you?” Fell said. “Other than that, I don't see how effective a national drug strategy can be.”

“Because I've seen the last drug strategy, and you know things are said, promises are made, and yet they're not delivered on,” she said. “Is this crisis going to get people to stand up and be counted?”

FARI is also seeking sustainable, multiannual funding for family and community support organisations. FARI itself currently receives no state funding, she said.

Fell said affected families had already contributed to the Citizens' Assembly and Oireachtas committee discussions on drugs policy.

“We've been everywhere that we've been invited to and asked for our views and our opinions of what will work,” she said. “We've given that. Now we need to see action on it.”

*Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.*