'It starts fun': Four women on cocaine's impact on their lives

Cocaine use among women in Ireland is increasingly coming to the attention of addiction services, with the number seeking treatment rising sevenfold in eight years.

Four women have spoken to Prime Time about their experiences with the drug, from recreational use on nights out to addiction, isolation and recovery.

Their accounts also highlight a less widely discussed aspect of cocaine use: women taking the drug to suppress their appetite and manage their weight.

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When Áine O'Connell began using cocaine, she was working as an occupational therapist and maintaining what appeared to be an ordinary life.

But as her cocaine use progressed, the Limerick woman began withdrawing from family and friends.

"When I first started, I would have been quite high functioning. I held down a job, I had the car, you know, I had somewhere to live, I had everything.

"But it moves to a point then where you isolate, you remove yourself from your family, your friends, so you can use alone, so you don't have anybody giving out to you, basically. It becomes a very lonely place."

She is now 11 months into recovery.

"I would have used it to manage my weight," Áine told Prime Time.

Hannah Ennis, a 29-year-old Dublin woman, also said she saw a relationship between the drug and her body image.

"People are using it because it would curb their appetite, they wouldn't have to eat as much. Especially for women, it's an interesting one because body image is huge," Hannah said.

"For women to be able to wake up and potentially lose more weight and wake up and not feel bloated and wake up and look skinny in their eyes, that is like a win-win," she added.

Limerick-based addiction counsellor Michael Guerin has worked in the field for 20 years and has encountered women using cocaine as a means of controlling their weight.

He recalled one woman describing the appeal of the drug in particularly stark terms.

"One young lady described cocaine to me, she said it was like using Ozempic with a high thrown in for good measure," Mr Guerin said.

Figures published by the Health Research Board (HRB) in May show a sharp increase in women entering treatment for cocaine use in Ireland, from 284 in 2017 to 1,912 in 2025.

The women who spoke to Prime Time also described how cocaine use has become accepted in their social circles, including on nights out and in rural pubs.

AnnMarie Roche, from Kilsheelan in south Co Tipperary, said cocaine had become a routine part of socialising .

"It's so socially acceptable. On a girls' nights out, you're having your Prosecco and your bag of coke. People think that's what it is, but it's not. It might start off like that, but it doesn't finish like that," AnnMarie said.

"You go into the pub and it's not even, 'do you want a drink?' It's 'do you want a line?' People nearly look at you funny if you don't take it, like, what's wrong with her?" AnnMarie said.

"It's as common as having a packet of crisps with your pint. It's just the way it is."

Maureen Nolan, from Co Carlow, also described her experience with the drug.

When she starting using cocaine "It was kind of euphoric, in a way. You almost feel bulletproof. You can do anything. You’re a completely different person."

What began as recreational use, quickly spiralled out of control.

"I wasn't sleeping for two or three days, and then I would literally crash, and I could sleep for maybe 24 hours, maybe more," Maureen said.

"And then the same thing again all day, like taking it just to watch Coronation Street, just to do anything at all. Eating very little. And that's what became noticeable to my family," Maureen added.

"I remember being in my house on my own with just a bag of drugs and no one for company."

At one of her lowest points Maureen said, "I was hallucinating and vomiting blood, and the neighbours called an ambulance, and the guards came as well."

Cuan Mhuire, which provides residential addiction treatment services, has seen an upsurge in women seeking help for cocaine use.

There is currently a 12-week wait to enter one of its five centres around the country.

Nicola Kelly, who has worked at Cuan Mhuire's treatment facility in Athy, Co Kildare, for 23 years, said the increase had been striking.

"We have a lady here at the moment that was spending up to €600 a week on cocaine. She was being paid, full-time employment, paid on a Friday, and by the end of the weekend all her money was gone," Ms Kelly added.

"Someone presenting can have a family, can have a house, children, a normal life in many respects, a successful career," added Karl McEntegart, who also works at Cuan Mhuire, "but behind that have very serious cocaine addiction issues that you won't see."

Michael Guerin said the financial consequences of cocaine addiction could be severe, with some people spending as much as €1,000 a week on the drug.

"They amass credit with drug dealers who are very unscrupulous people and will go to very, very extreme lengths in order to recoup that money," Mr Guerin said.

Hannah Ennis, who now lives in Bali and works as a self-image and mindset coach, believes there is "a very fine tipping point" between recreational cocaine use and addiction.

Having overcome problems with alcohol and cocaine herself, she reflected on how her relationship with the drug changed.

"It starts off fun, but then it's not fun at all. You love who you are on the drugs, and you hate who you are without them, but then you end up hating who you are on the drugs as well."

By sharing their experiences, the four women say they hope to raise awareness of the realities of cocaine addiction, help others recognise the dangers of the drug and show that recovery is possible.

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If you've been affected by any issues raised in this article, please go to rte.ie/helplines.

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The full report 'Women, cocaine & chaos’ from Prime Time reporter Conor McMorrow and producer Genevieve Brennan can be viewed on Thursday, 22 October on RTÉ One television and the RTÉ Player.