Jesuit’s ‘brother’ shortlisted for prestigious award
Jimmy Fullam, the former Irish Defence Forces member who co-authored the pilgrimage book Brothers in Arms » with Brendan McManus SJ (see photo), has been nominated for a Blue Light Award. The Blue Light Awards celebrate individuals and teams who serve in our emergency services here in Ireland and across the UK, including those behind the scenes as well as on the front lines.
Jimmy is one of three nominees for the prestigious award, and the winner will be announced at a special ceremony in Dublin this Saturday, 15 August 2026. Jimmy’s story, as recounted in the Ambulance Yearbook 2026 », is the basis on which his nomination was instigated. It reads as a compelling testament to resilience, recovery and the restorative power of pilgrimage.
The article explains how Jimmy, who aspired to military life from the age of 17, built an early identity around service, sport and camaraderie, becoming a boxing and soccer champion within the Army before leaving in the early 1980s. After military life he worked as a taxi driver, but his transition coincided with escalating alcohol dependence that eventually threatened his marriage, health and sense of self.
The turning point for Jimmy came in his mid-40s during a moment of profound clarity. Confronted by the prospect of his wife leaving, he experienced an unexpected spiritual awakening after a desperate prayer for help and a vision of the Sacred Heart. That night he attended his first AA meeting and embarked on a recovery journey that has lasted more than a decade. The gesture of asking for help, he says, not only saved his marriage but initiated a life reoriented toward sobriety and service. He also describes how his wife’s willingness to stay, despite having prepared to leave, was directly connected to that decision to seek help.
Even after attaining sobriety and completing the 12-step programme, Jimmy sensed something missing, a spiritual dimension he had yet to find. Serendipity played a decisive role. A passenger in his taxi told him about the Camino de Santiago and recommended the film The Way. Intrigued, he soon set out on his first Camino. That initial pilgrimage proved transformative. Encounters along the route, including one with an elderly theologian who described the life of St Ignatius of Loyola and predicted Jimmy would walk the Ignatian Way and many more routes, heightened his sense of purpose and deepened his spiritual recovery. Jimmy interprets these meetings as providential, signposts that guided him from mere abstinence toward a richer, spiritually grounded life – true sobriety.
The Ignatian Way became especially significant through his association with Irish Jesuit Brendan McManus. After contacting the Jesuits to learn more about Ignatius, he was introduced to Fr Brendan, who would prove to be one of the most influential figures in his journey.
Brendan accompanied Jimmy on walks, providing practical guidance and spiritual teaching rooted in Ignatian principles. His advice to avoid walking alone on the more dangerous early stages of the Ignatian Way reflected both pastoral care and practical experience. Brendan himself is a seasoned pilgrim and author of the best-selling Redemption Road: Grieving Along the Camino » Even when circumstances temporarily separated them, and Jimmy experienced prolonged dehydration and exhaustion while walking alone, the Ignatian principles Brendan shared helped him manage temptation and find consolation amid desolation. Those methods, and Fr Brendan’s companionship, later formed part of the material for the book they co-wrote, Brothers In Arms published by Messenger Publications ».
Jimmy’s pilgrimages extend far beyond one route. He has completed six full Caminos, two Ignatian Ways, two Famine Trails and Dolomite Trails, covering more than 8,000 km. Along the way, he has combined personal recovery with charitable fundraising, supporting organisations including Focus Ireland, ONE, the 5th Infantry Battalion Veterans’ Association, LauraLynn, Simon Community and, most recently in 2025, Coolmine Therapeutic Community. His personal motto, ‘Always think of others,’ encapsulates the ethos behind these efforts. Jimmy walks not only for his own healing but to inspire hope and practical support for those facing addiction and homelessness.
The ‘Camino for Coolmine’ that Jimmy walked drew public acknowledgement from MacDara O’Shea, the Grants Trust and Foundations Executive with Coolmine Theraputic Community », who emphasised how community-led fundraising and public testimony help break stigma and encourage others to seek help. Jimmy and his fellow walker Ciaran Fullam exemplify the organisation’s ethos of giving back; by sharing their stories, and they provide living examples of recovery and role models for those beginning their own journeys.
Throughout his pilgrimages, Jimmy has also relied on a support network of former soldiers, firefighters and battalion colleagues who offered practical advice, safety guidance and moral support. His narrative weaves together military camaraderie, spiritual discovery, and community engagement to illustrate how pilgrimage, walked ‘with the mind’ as much as the body, can foster sustained recovery, renewed purpose, and opportunities to help others do the same.
Brendan McManus SJ, Jimmy’s ‘brother in arms’, is hoping to attend the award ceremony on Saturday. “I’ve nothing but the utmost admiration for Jimmy, having walked with him and heard his own struggle to get his life together and then how he is there to help others too,” he says, adding, “He’s an inspirational individual whom I’m proud to know regardless of whether he wins or not!”