In all the recent election debates, there was just one mention of mental health. Only one party (Fianna Fáil) gave much more than a paragraph to the subject in its manifesto. Nobody won or lost a seat based on it, although it’s been acknowledged now for quite some time that both the health service and the [...]
Mary Lou McDonald had to fight for maternity leave from the Dail - there is currently no provision for this. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) I wrote this piece in March after a trip to Rwanda to meet women politicians there, and after spending about four months shadowing and interviewing women politicians in Ireland. I just [...]
Rwanda is the most densely populated country in Africa AND has very fertile soil. This is how that works out. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) At the moment I am busy making plans for a trip to Rwanda in February. I received funding from Irish Aid's Simon Cumbers Media Fund last summer for a project on [...]
It was fantastic to see mental health and suicide being discussed on RTÉ Frontline last night. It can be unusual to see constructive discussion on current affairs programming, but I think that's what the Frontline team achieved with the mix of guests - Minister Kathleen Lynch is a strong voice for mental health and within the [...]
This is the speech I gave last night at a great event run by Cork Feminista to celebrate the 100th International Women's Day Introduction Good evening everyone, and happy 100th International Women’s Day! When I was sitting down to write this speech, I began to think about the recent election; the role of women in Irish [...]
With only 6 women out of 67 candidates running throughout Cork, the odds are certainly not stacking up at 50-50. As Áine Kerr wrote in yesterday’s Irish Times, Mná na hÉireann are losing ground. But that’s all set to change, if a new group set up in Cork before Christmas has its way. The [...]