Mags Gargan
Dolores Keane Irish folk singer Dolores Keane has spoken of how her Catholic faith helped her in her fight against alcohol addiction.
In an interview on the Meaning of Life with Gay Byrne, the singer explained that prayer had played a big part in her life growing up, but she then lost her faith until she sought help for alcoholism with Cuan Mhuire, an addiction rehabilitation centre founded by Sr Consilio.
“[Faith] made a big impression on me but I lost it for a while. I didn’t realise until I came to do the programme in Cuan Mhuire. I knew there was something missing in my life. It used to give me great peace of mind and great feeling of contentment. The whole ritual of saying my prayers in the morning, saying my Angelus, going to Mass, going to Confession, all that,” she said.
The music star, famous as a founding member of the group De Dannan, said when she was in the grips of alcoholism there was no light at the end of the tunnel “and even if there was you’re not heading for the light anyway”. “Whatever is inside you, everything becomes a problem. It takes over your whole being. I said prayers to all the saints and everything and then one morning I woke up and threw back the covers and picked up the phone and phoned Cuan Mhuire,” she said.