All bets are off at Cuan Mhuire

BINGO players took their fight for jackpots to the Dáil last week and were lauded for their efforts to preserve a cornerstone of Irish society.
Yet on the far side of the country a young man was leaving the Cuan Mhuire campus at Coolarne, near Turloughmore, having completed a 12-week programme to treat his gambling addiction that was sparked by attending his first bingo session as an eight- year-old.
James (whose name has been changed) had a difficult childhood, growing up in a home with siblings with special needs. The responsibility placed on him by his parents made him angry and fuelled an addiction that finally led him to admit himself to Cuan Mhuire after realising the damage he was doing to himself and his family.

Read the full feature in this week's edition of The Tuam Herald