{"id":9000,"date":"2025-08-19T09:05:14","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T09:05:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/9000\/"},"modified":"2025-08-19T09:05:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T09:05:14","slug":"wicklow-dad-builds-e12k-business-while-homeless-after-overcoming-addiction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/9000\/","title":{"rendered":"Wicklow dad builds \u20ac12k business while homeless after overcoming addiction"},"content":{"rendered":"

A young Dublin man has spoken about his journey through addiction to entrepreneurship, that was inspired by his daughter\u2019s struggles. Now his business helps many families with children going through the same thing\n<\/p>\n

Se\u00e1n (26), a reformed addict turned businessman, and his girlfriend Clodagh Kelly (24), a native of Ballywaltrim, Co. Wicklow, began their journey into running a business while living in emergency accommodation.<\/p>\n

Their business, Goosey Goo, makes affordable hypoallergenic baby clothing, and was inspired by their daughter \u00c9abha (2). While the success of this family-run business marks a major milestone in Se\u00e1n turning his life around, it has been a long road to reach this tipping point.<\/p>\n

A troubled start in Finglas<\/p>\n

Originally from Finglas Co. Dublin, Se\u00e1n was a self-described nerdy kid, who had a tough time at school due to his undiagnosed ADHD and constant bullying. This led Se\u00e1n on a path of looking to the streets for guidance and set him up for a life of drugs, alcohol and addiction.<\/p>\n

At 17, Se\u00e1n had fell headfirst into addiction.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started getting involved with the things that come along with that life and getting involved with things I shouldn\u2019t have,\u201d said Se\u00e1n. His addiction to cocaine would leave him in and out of stable employment and put in his life in turmoil for years.<\/p>\n

His late father also struggled with addiction which left him in and out of Se\u00e1n\u2019s life during his formative years.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing could have stopped me going down the path I went down,\u201d said Se\u00e1n, three years on from the start of his journey into sobriety. He added: \u201cIt was my right of passage for me to break the generational curse that was on me and my father.\u201d<\/p>\n

While in recovery his old life has come back to haunt him, with Se\u00e1n ending up in Wicklow District Court on matters that occurred prior to him changing his life around, several times.<\/p>\n

\"Se\u00e1n<\/p>\n

Se\u00e1n Fox and partner Clodagh with baby \u00c9abha. Photo: Goosey Goo<\/p>\n

Today’s News in 90 Seconds – August 19th <\/p>\n

\u201cI had done so much work to turn my life around, but my past came back to bite me.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was living in madness during the addiction, I didn\u2019t care if I died,\u201d Se\u00e1n added. \u201cI was always speeding, and I deeply regret it because I was putting other people lives in danger.\u201d<\/p>\n

Se\u00e1n does not shy away from the role he played in his downfall, or the consequences that came with it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the system dealt with me as appropriately as they could. People should pay consequences for their actions. Everyone deserve the right to turn their life around and seek redemption.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was lucky enough to meet my partner Clodagh; she believed in me. She has also seen me at my worst.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meeting Clodagh and a fresh start<\/p>\n

His relationship with Clodagh has allowed Se\u00e1n \u201cto create a beautiful and happy life for Clodagh and my daughter\u201d.<\/p>\n

When Clodagh and Se\u00e1n moved to Bray in 2022, shortly after the death of his father, it gave him a new beginning and it played a pivotal role in him getting sober.<\/p>\n

\u201cBray gave me somewhere to get away from the madness,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was the perfect place to start a new life with Clodagh and \u00c9abha.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Bray gave me somewhere to get away from the madness<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

However, this new life began to unravel when a routine dental appointment diagnosed Se\u00e1n with oral cancer.<\/p>\n

The cancer turned out to be benign upon further inspection, but before that discovery was made, Se\u00e1n was sacked from his job.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was told to leave and they needed to hire someone reliable,\u201d Se\u00e1n said. \u201cI was heartbroken, this was my dream job just snatched away from me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unemployment was the first of many problems that led to Se\u00e1n and Clodagh becoming another statistic among Ireland\u2019s growing homeless population.<\/p>\n

Se\u00e1n is the oldest of five children and comes from the humble origins of a three-bedroom house in Finglas, a house that was already full when Clodagh and \u00c9abha moved in.<\/p>\n

There was so little room that when the threesome first went to stay with Se\u00e1n\u2019s mother in the old family home, he and Clodagh had to sleep in his car.<\/p>\n

\u00c9abha’s eczema sparks business idea<\/p>\n

From two months old \u00c9abha had severe eczema, including open wounds. When Se\u00e1n was employed and Clodagh was on paid maternity leave, they could afford the hypoallergenic clothes needed to manage \u00c9abha\u2019s condition.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt costs on average of 600 euro every time a child goes up a size and, once we were made homeless, I couldn\u2019t afford it and there were no cheaper alternatives,\u201d said Se\u00e1n.<\/p>\n

\"Clodagh<\/p>\n

Clodagh Kelly and baby \u00c9abha.<\/p>\n

The business has been in the works since May 2024, the logistics of trying to start a babywear business from the inside of homeless accommodation proving difficult.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe spent months researching, endless nights of hard work and learning,\u201d Se\u00e1n said. \u201cWe saved \u20ac50 a week from our combined social welfare payments, and I was pushing the business and the concept on LinkedIn and someone from the UAE reached out and donated \u20ac4,500. We launched from that day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Goosey Goo used social media as a vital part of their arsenal, using it to help promote their products. On the first day of trading they received more than 30 pre-orders.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think the addiction had ever left, I think it had just shifted from something bad to something good,\u201d said Se\u00e1n of how it felt to see those orders coming in.<\/p>\n

\u20ac12,000 in sales and growing<\/p>\n

Goosey Goo has earned \u20ac12,000 in sales since they began trading in April 2025. Se\u00e1n and Clodagh are looking for grants to help scale Goosey Goo grow further, but Enterprise Ireland\u2019s business grant is not available until after 18 months of trading or \u20ac30,000 in sales.<\/p>\n

When talking about the success that Goosey Goo has been for the young couple, Se\u00e1n said: \u201cI am still so ashamed of my past and all the people I hurt along the way. I\u2019m so thankful for the community has that got behind us, that includes Bray and Finglas and all around the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Se\u00e1n hopes for the business to provide a secure income for himself and Clodagh. His goals for Goosey Goo are to \u201cgrow and help parents with children with complex skin needs and give them an affordable option, and give back to the homeless community and finally make a social impact\u201d.<\/p>\n

A story of hope and transformation<\/p>\n

Se\u00e1n and Clodagh\u2019s journey shows that resilience and determination can turn even the most challenging circumstances into opportunity. From navigating homelessness to building a business that helps families like their own, their story is a testament to the power of change, hard work and hope.<\/p>\n

As Goosey Goo continues to grow it not only provides essential support for children with complex skin conditions, but also inspires others facing adversity, proving that even in the darkest moments, a brighter future is possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A young Dublin man has spoken about his journey through addiction to entrepreneurship, that was inspired by his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9001,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[9,10,8900,18,13,14,6,19,17,11,12,15,16,5,7,8],"class_list":{"0":"post-9000","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ireland","8":"tag-breaking-news","9":"tag-breakingnews","10":"tag-darragh-mccann","11":"tag-eire","12":"tag-featured-news","13":"tag-featurednews","14":"tag-headlines","15":"tag-ie","16":"tag-ireland","17":"tag-latest-news","18":"tag-latestnews","19":"tag-main-news","20":"tag-mainnews","21":"tag-news","22":"tag-top-stories","23":"tag-topstories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}