Damien Dempsey to stream touching short film on the Coolmine Theraputic Community

Irish singer-songwriter Damien Dempsey is set to stream a short film he made while recording songs at the Coolmine Therapeutic Community in Blanchardstown.

Recovery Is... sees Dempsey and former Republic of Ireland manager Brian Kerr delve into the invredible world of recovery and its transformative potential - exploring the profound impact which different treatments have had on the lives of individiuals and their wider communities

Set up in 1973 at the behest of Lord Paddy Rossmore, an Anglo-Irish peer who became interested in drug problems after several of his friends succumbed to them, Coolmine has a second house on its Dublin 15 site, which caters for a similar number of women, some of whom have their babies and toddlers with them. While they work closely with and receive funding from the HSE, Coolmine is an independent organisation reliant on fundraising to maintain its services.

As for the effectiveness of what they do, 85% of graduates report being illict drug-free two years after completing the five month-residential programme and two months of ‘step down’ integration back into regular life.

President Michael D Higgins visits Coolmine for its 50th anniversary. Credit: Robbie Reynolds

“A great singer-songwriter friend of mine, Eoin Coughlan from Cork, was doing a bit of work up here and said, ‘A few of the lads are big fans, would you come in and sing a song?’” said Demspey, discussing his recent endeavours in an interview with Hot Press' Stuart Clark.

“So, I came up and we had a great sing-song with the lads, like today, and then I was on a CD for Coolmie and basically kept coming.

“There’s always loads of love in the room – their support for each other is beautiful. There are never any bad vibes in here. They’ve been through prisons and homelessness and stuff, but it’s all just lovely people.”

Read the full interview here.

The film will be streamed live on November 22 at 7pm – register here with your email to be first to view.