well there is funding available - contact your local VEC office to find out how to apply for it, there are fairly strict rules attached re: previous years income etc must not exceed a certain amount.
if you want to support you're family you can always work part-time it just depends on the hours you have on the course, your own time management skills etc.
don't know if your in south dublin or not but found this info which should be of some help to you
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best of luck with whatever you decide to do and now is the best time to do all your research into your options.