Victoria McCann BA, MSc

Victoria McCann BA, MSc

Communications Director & Editorial Lead

Victoria McCann, BA, MSc, is Communications Director & Editorial Lead at Castle Craig and a member of the clinic’s founding family. With over a decade of experience in addiction treatment communications, she leads the creation of clear, compassionate content that supports patients, families, and healthcare professionals. Victoria is committed to reducing stigma around addiction and mental health, and brings strategic insight and lived sector knowledge to her work. She regularly attends and organises addiction treatment conferences across the UK and Europe, promoting high standards of care and best practice in the field. Victoria also works with the media to raise awareness and share informed perspectives on addiction and recovery. The Herald, The Times, BBC, STV, The Times, New York Post, The Guardian.

People Consume More Alcohol in Colder Climates

The first academic report to have investigated the impact of weather on alcohol intake. Study found a clear negative correlation between climate factors – average temperature and sunlight hours – and alcohol consumption.

Quaaludes Addiction

Quaaludes were very popular in the 1960s and 1970s as a synthetic central nervous system depressant. It was originally introduced as a safe barbiturate substitute with people believing there would be no negative effects. Even though Quaaludes are no longer legal in the US, there are still people who are addicted and need to get […]

A photo of a man during an addiction therapy session during rehab at Smarmore Castle in Ireland

Environmental Factors in Drug and Alcohol Misuse

Just like genetics can have a factor in the chances of becoming an addict, the environment plays a big role too. If a person lives where they are surrounded by bars or drug dealers, the chances of becoming an addict can increase. It is important for schools and the community to expose teens to education […]

How You Can Be an Advocate for Recovery Everyday

Being an advocate for addiction recovery, it is when you develop actions and activities to influence decision makers to grow, establish, or change policies concerning drug laws. Europe has 218 drug law advocacy groups. One of them is the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) which provides overview of drug problems and […]

Why Society Views Addicts and Alcoholics Negatively

Addiction is classified as a medical disease, just as asthma and diabetes are diseases. However, society has long treated addiction in a much more negative light than other diseases. Even when conditions such as cancer and hypertension result from habits like smoking cigarettes or eating a salt-rich diet, we treat the disease without judging the […]

Some Addictions Are Legal

Prescription painkillers can be sourced from two places. One is from drug dealers on the street. Buying prescription pills, making dirty deals with pharmacists, buying imitation drugs from manufacturers- however dealers get their prescription painkiller drugs, they are able to sell them illegally. The other option for getting prescription painkillers is not illegal. In fact, […]

Relapse Prevention for Sex Addiction

After completing a residential treatment programme for sex addiction, it is strongly encouraged to spend as much time in a structured, clinical environment as possible where abstinence is advocated. At least six months of sexual abstinence of all kind is recommended for those in treatment for recovery sex addiction. Abstinence is a way to make […]

Alcohol and Anger: Causes, Dangers, How to Help

Everyone gets angry sometimes. There’s nothing wrong with that. However, when that anger becomes constant or uncontrollable, it can cause a number of issues. One of the things that can make anger even more difficult to control is alcohol. In fact, alcohol is often linked to violence and crime. Alcohol doesn’t cause anger, but it […]

Addiction Counsellors Desperately Needed Throughout Ireland

Ireland has the third highest drug-death rate in the European Union. Ireland’s numbers alone are four times higher than the average rate of drug-death across the EU as a whole. 6,096 people died of drug related deaths between the years of 2004 and 2014 in Ireland. 697 people died in 2014. The National Alcohol Diary […]

Privacy Policy

Effective Date: November 5th 2025 Data Controller: Castle Craig Hospital Ltd (acting as Data Controller for Smarmore Castle Clinic Ltd) Clinic Address: Smarmore Castle Clinic, Ardee, Co. Louth, Ireland Contact Email: info@castlehealth.eu 1. Introduction Smarmore Castle Clinic (“Smarmore”, “we”, “our”) is operated under the Castle Health Group and managed by Castle Craig Hospital Ltd, which […]

Terms of Service

Welcome to our website. If you continue to browse and use this website, you are agreeing to comply with and be bound by the following terms and conditions of use, which together with our privacy policy govern Smarmore Castle’s relationship with you in relation to this website. If you disagree with any part of these […]