Smarmore Castle Private Clinic

15/06/2026

Alcohol remains Ireland's biggest drug problem. Alcohol Action Ireland estimates that around one in five drinkers meet criteria for Alcohol Use Disorder, drinking among younger people has gone up over the past decade, and Health Research Board data show Ireland among the highest countries in Europe for cocaine‑related harms.
Behind those numbers are people struggling with addiction, and the families and friends who are affected alongside them.
Addiction can be hard to make sense of from the outside, but it’s a chronic, treatable medical condition and it often involves people who are in a great deal of pain.
As powerless as the situation can feel, especially when someone says they don’t want help, there are still things you can do for yourself.
That might mean a family support group such as Al‑Anon, counselling, or services that work specifically with families affected by addiction.

12/06/2026

Chems*x is increasingly presenting as a treatment issue in Ireland. But for many of the people seeking help, the substance use is only part of what they are carrying.

LGBTQI+ communities carry a long history of criminalisation, stigma and pathologisation. Research links those experiences to higher rates of distress, trauma and self-harm. When someone comes forward for help with chems*x, that history often comes with them.

Too many people have previously felt judged, misunderstood or unable to be fully honest when seeking support. That has consequences. When people are worried about how they will be perceived, they delay reaching out altogether.

Effective treatment starts with understanding the whole person. That means creating space for honest conversations about substance use, s*x, mental health and personal history, without judgement.

At Smarmore Castle, we offer confidential assessments and specialist treatment for chems*x and s*xualised drug use in Ireland.

If you or someone you know is struggling, we’re here.

11/06/2026

Chems*x is increasingly presenting as a treatment issue in Ireland. But for many of the people seeking help, the substance use is only part of what they are carrying.

LGBTQI+ communities carry a long history of criminalisation, stigma and pathologisation. Research links those experiences to higher rates of distress, trauma and self-harm. When someone comes forward for help with chems*x, that history often comes with them.

Too many people have previously felt judged, misunderstood or unable to be fully honest when seeking support, which has consequences. When people are worried about how they will be perceived, they delay reaching out altogether.

Effective treatment starts with understanding the whole person. That means creating space for honest conversations about substance use, s*x, mental health and personal history, without judgement.

At Smarmore Castle, we offer confidential assessments and specialist treatment for chems*x and s*xualised drug use in Ireland.

If you or someone you know is living with these challenges, we’re here.

05/06/2026

Smarmore Castle has recently contributed to an important conversation about how health insurance affects access to addiction treatment in Ireland.

In a new media interview, our Executive Director, Keith Cassidy, responds to the Health Insurance Authority’s latest report on rising premiums and changes in cover. He outlines how these trends can impact people seeking help for addiction, and why it is so important that treatment is recognised and supported as essential healthcare.

Keith also discusses Smarmore Castle’s experience working with different insurers, and the need for clearer, more consistent pathways into treatment for those who need it.

Watch a clip of the interview here:

04/06/2026

“Our aim is to get young people into treatment early, before any permanent damage is done.” – Dr Orlagh McCambridge, Addiction Psychiatrist and Medical Director, Smarmore Castle

Ketamine has been appearing more often in the news lately, as Ireland now ranks among Europe’s top ten countries for ketamine use. But behind the headlines and statistics are people in need of understanding, care, and a space where they feel safe enough to talk about what they’re going through.

More awareness and more honest conversations around ketamine use can do everything from breaking stigma to changing lives. Because the more openly we talk, the easier it becomes for people to ask for help – and, hopefully, to get support at a time when it can make the biggest difference.

Ketamine-related harm can affect people of all ages, but services are seeing more young adults in their twenties and thirties seeking treatment. That’s why our Clinical Director, Keith Cassidy, recently spoke to the Irish Independent about the rise of ketamine use in Ireland. You can watch the video here:

Keith Cassidy - Executive Director for Smarmore Castle says Ketamine addiction is on the rise in Ireland

27/05/2026

Executive Director, Keith Cassidy, spoke to the Sunday Independent this week about the realities of ketamine use, the impact it has on people's lives, and what treatment at Smarmore Castle looks like for those who need it.

"[...] what may begin as recreational use can cause profound and lasting harm, and we feel it is important that this is understood by the public," Keith Cassidy.

Read more here: https://buff.ly/UTUndsp

If you're worried about your own use, or someone you care about, we're here to help.

From weight-loss to incontinence, treatment centres are dealing with the worst of ketamine’s effects

14/05/2026

Save the date

We are delighted to inform you that the Smarmore Castle annual reunion will take place on Sunday, 23rd August 2026.

Please save the date and visit our website to book your tickets ahead of the event.

https://www.smarmorecastle.ie/about-us/alumni-friends/reunion/

We look forward to a day of celebration as we come together to share recovery stories, reconnect with friends, and reflect on how far you've come.

The reunion is also a chance for friends and family members to listen to shares and inspiring speeches, and is an affirmation of our shared commitment to ongoing recovery.

More details, including our guest speaker and scheduled programme of events, will follow soon, but for now, save the date and book your tickets.

01/05/2026

When someone puts down a substance, the emotions that were numbed or masked start to surface, sometimes for the first time in years. Life in addiction tends to run on extremes, with big highs and deep lows and not much in between, so when those feelings come back, it can feel like a lot to process.

Recovery is about learning to meet life as it comes, and problems that once felt like mountains slowly become more like hills, until eventually you realise you're walking along at peace with the fact that hard times will come and go.

Some people in early recovery go through a spell of unexpected euphoria, typically appearing a few days to a few weeks after detox, which is thought to be connected to the brain beginning to rebalance its chemistry after prolonged substance use. You may hear people refer to it as "the pink cloud", and because it can feel like such a dramatic lift in mood, it can leave people feeling so confident in their progress that continuing to work on their recovery feels unnecessary. And when it eventually fades, it can leave people wondering whether something has gone wrong. It hasn't.

The cloud lifting is not the end of something, it's the beginning of the real thing…

10/04/2026

87 years ago today, Alcoholics Anonymous was published for the first time.
In May 1938, when Bill W., co-founder of AA, began work on the first draft of what is now the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, in New York City and Newark, New Jersey, he had been sober about three and a half years. Dr Bob, AA's other co-founder, was sober for a few months less than three years, and the other 100 early members who contributed in one way or another to the writing of the book had been sober for periods ranging from a couple of years to a couple of months.
By the time that first edition went to print in April 1939, they had unknowingly written what would come to be one of the most influential books of all time.
In the words of our friend Christopher Burns, author of Recovery Days:

“Millions throughout the world have achieved sobriety through following 12 Step programmes […] When much of the world appears unstable and unreliable, it is reassuring to have the rock of the fellowships in our lives.”
Across four editions, the core text and the 12 Steps themselves have remained unchanged. What has evolved are the personal stories, added over time to reflect the fellowship's growing diversity, so that more people could see themselves in someone else's experience.
The book has since been translated into over 70 languages, tens of millions of copies have been sold and read across hundreds of countries, and countless lives have been changed.
Ireland was key to AA’s early expansion. In 1946, it became the first place in Europe where AA was established.
Today, we’re marking its anniversary and sharing some facts you might not know.

03/03/2026

Addiction takes a lot from the individual. It puts the body in a state of chronic stress, and one's mind, caught in that rhythm and under all that pressure, can retreat or withdraw and lose perspective of what's still good.

The "Big Book" of AA describes this as what shuts us off from "the sunlight of the spirit." A gratitude list written at the start or end of the day is a small but deliberate way to redirect that. A good conversation, a warm meal, a sober day. Noticing what’s beautiful around us, no matter how simple, helps the nervous system learn that it’s safe and that even in darkness there’s always light. Gratitude changes how we see our own lives, then it changes how we show up in the world and how the world meets us back.