We were so delighted to be welcomed into Noel Cunningham’s beautiful Donegal home.
We chat about living in one of the most stunning places in the world, carrying on his family legacy and how gorgeous his home is.
But the conversation turns to a darker topic, his battle with alcoholism and how his niece was the one who helped him overcome his addiction.
Speaking to us for our November issue, Noel said: “I was a chronic alcoholic, and lost everything. Sadly my sister and her husband were killed in a horrific car accident and a year after that, when I was at home for their anniversary mass, their daughter, who was really only a child herself called me aside and she said ‘Uncle Noel you have a problem you need to sort it out.’
“That coming from Tanya who had just lost both her parents, was powerful and painful. It was heartbreaking. It stopped me dead in my tracks and made me realise I was throwing my life away. I would have inevitably ended up dead, no doubt about it. With one sentence, it very forcibly put me on the path to sobriety.”
He opened up about his low moments of waking up at 2am to drink wine or ” you’re pulling the house apart looking for coins that may have slipped between cushions to go buy alcohol”.
He opens up about hiding his addiction, admitting: “Alcohol is very sly, cunning and devious, and the person becomes all of those things. You fool yourself into thinking you’re living a normal life, but people recognise and think what’s wrong with him?
“We fool ourselves every day for several years until something dramatic happens or the realisation hits that one has a problem. For the addict to recognise that they have a problem is a very big part towards getting to a better life.”
