Tag Archive | women

Women in Sport: The importance of education around the impact of the menstrual cycle in sport

May7

Catherine Culbert HCPC Registered Dietitian, Personal Trainer and Yoga Teacher specialising in sports nutrition and women’s health.

This Women’s Collective Ireland- Donegal, ‘Women’s Lives, Women’s Voices’ feature is written by Rhona Hannigan, Development Worker with the Women’s Collective in Donegal Town and Catherine Culbert HCPC Registered Dietitian who specialises in sports nutrition and women’s health. Highlighting the importance of education on the impact of the menstrual cycle and women in sport.

As many people know I love football and in particular women’s football. Women’s football has come on leaps and bounds but a huge disparity still remains between the men’s and women’s game especially in terms of wages, attendance at matches and funding available to improve structures within women’s football. We often hear the old argument that ” men’s games generate more revenue” and that is partly why men are paid more. However, if the same amount of time and effort had gone into women’s football in the past who knows where we would be today.

Girl’s football is the fastest-growing sport in the country. There are chances for girls to play that have never been available before. It’s only 15 years ago that Stephanie Roche was playing with her local boy’s team because there wasn’t any options for her. Now, there are options at every level from community to elite. The success of the Irish women’s football team in recent years has had a profound effect on the Irish public and especially on many young girls who want to emulate players like Katie McCabe and Denise O’Sullivan. Attendance at women’s football matches is breaking records. Women’s football in Ireland is on a journey with many positive steps implemented already. We have prominent companies like Sky who sponsor the women’s national team, who’s advertising can be seen nationwide, and Cadbury Ireland who have given tremendous support to the growth of women’s grassroots football and have recently launched their ‘The Game is On’ campaign that aims to drive more interest in local clubs, game attendance, volunteering and supporting the game in general.

Despite the fact that many girls and women love football, it’s still a sport that’s overwhelmingly dominated by men. Even with the increased popularity, women face barriers that prevent them from participating. Such barriers may include feeling self-conscious about body image, social stereotyping and harassment or doubts around skill level or perceived lack of skills “because you are a girl”. Football has a male-dominated sports culture and more often than not your role model will be a male footballer, for me there is only one Roy Keane, the only one person iv ever hero worshipped.

All levels of football coaching is male dominated and more female coaches is preferable to bridge the gap. However, thankfully, despite what sex the coaches are they devote crazy hours of their free time coaching so that we have girls football. That said, coaching girls is very different to boys. I’m involved with Derry City FC Women’s Academy, I’m the Child Welfare Officer and also on the coaching staff of the U17’s and U19’s. Derry has an amazing ethos of education off the pitch as well as on the pitch. Head of the academy, Jarleth Canning, thought it prudent that the teams should have a female on the coaching staff as all our coaches are males. As the Welfare Officer one of the areas I thought important to highlight was how women are affected by their mensural cycle when participating in sport. It was shocking speaking to some of the coaching staff, who had never considered the affect periods had on girls and their performance, so after research and recommendations I asked Catherine Culbert to present to the coaches and players on this topic; here is her story.

Some of the “Derry Girls” at the educational talk about menstruation and women in sport. The presentation was organised by Derry City FC Women’s Academy

The importance of education around the menstrual cycle and women in sport

“Menstrual cycles are a completely natural process for most girls and women, yet they are often the elephant in the room for female athletes. Menstrual cycles can be a huge barrier for girls and women continuing to play sport throughout their lifecycle or reaching their full potential in sport. In a recent survey by Youth Trust Sport periods and low confidence were the most common reasons girls gave for not wanting to take part in PE¹. Its important that girls and women feel supported to continue to play sport for as long as possible and to do this, we need to raise awareness and educate athletes, coaches and parents on menstrual cycles for women in sport. 

As a female athlete myself, I started my period when I was 12. At that time, I swam competitively for a local swimming club and often felt embarrassed and worried each time I got my period and had to juggle swimming training and competitions. At that time, most of my coaches growing up were men and so I never dreamt of mentioning it to them. Looking back, I wish I felt more supported that having a menstrual cycle was completely normal and perhaps as a young girl given education on how to manage menstrual health around sport and training. Even the provision of period products in the swimming changing rooms would have been an absolute game-changer to help normalise it and for emergencies. 

When it comes to menstrual cycles, there is no ‘normal’, as every woman and girls’ body is different. Not all athletes have a regular cycle, due to hormonal imbalances, contraceptives, pregnancy, or menopause, so there is no ‘one size fits all’ advice.

However, most women and girls at some stages are likely to suffer from menstrual cycle symptoms which can impact on their physical performance in sport. Examples include bloating, digestive issues, mood swings, increased hunger, cravings, acne, low confidence, reduced energy, endurance, and strength. Another thing to consider is that bloating, and water retention can significantly impact on body image, especially for young girls which might affect their confidence in sport around this time.

Raising awareness and speaking about menstrual cycles for girls and women in sport can support the management of symptoms as well as encouraging female athletes to seek help if menstrual cycles are a barrier to them playing sport.

The effect of menstrual cycle on sports performance is now being increasingly recognised. Studies show 50-86% of women reported sport-related menstrual problems or that menstruation has affected their participation in training and competition.

The benefits of increasing awareness and education around menstrual cycle and sport includes:

  • Girls and women supported to continue to play sport for longer
  • Female athletes supported to reach their full potential
  • Reduced risk of injury due to better understanding and management of symptoms
  • More women and girls participating in sport
  • More positive attitudes towards sport and exercise from girls and women
  • Less shame and embarrassment

What can clubs and sports teams do to support girls and women with their menstrual cycle

The first place to start is getting buy-in and commitment from coaches to raise awareness of how menstrual cycles can affect female athletes. This can be done by organising a session where all coaches and athletes attend. Nutrition plays a key role in supporting with symptom management around menstrual cycles so a nutrition session that focuses on food and nutrients to support symptoms can be helpful starting point for coaches and athletes.

Coaches also need to normalise menstrual cycles and periods by speaking about them regularly, encouraging athletes to track and understand how their cycle affects them personally. Teams and clubs can also provide period products in changing rooms and provide emergency products in a kit bag for matches/ competitions away to support athletes.

Providing a safe space for female athletes to speak to coaches about barriers such as periods can really support athletes in staying consistent with training ad matches. Not all athletes will want to discuss their period with coaches, especially younger girls but it’s still important to raise awareness and provide education on this area for all.”

WCI-Donegal are always looking for women to share their stories and looking for women to write features on topics of their choice which we will profile as part of our Women’s Lives, Women’s Voices’ series.

Writing for Wellbeing

Mar25

This Women’s Collective Ireland-Donegal, ‘Women’s Lives, Women’s Voices’ feature is written by Siobhán Mc Laughlin. Siobhán is a poet and writer from Donegal, she has a MA in creative writing and is a creative writing facilitator who has been facilitating writing for wellbeing courses with women for WCI-Donegal this year. In this feature she reflects on the benefits of writing for wellbeing, talking about her own experience of writing and what she has discovered along the way

Writing for Wellbeing is a relatively new practice in the wellness field, but as anyone who writes knows, writing has always had therapeutic benefits. It’s just now they are being recognised.

If you’ve kept a diary at any stage in your life, you will be very familiar with this. A diary during those teenage angst years was a great way to vent all your turbulent feelings, from daily dramas to heartbreak crushes. Those pages of gushing would provide comfort and consolation, a listening ear, a way of uncorking all those bottled-up emotions. (And there was a reason why they used to come with a lock and key!)

Writing is a way to clarify thoughts, to unravel the jumble of them into clear concise visible ideas. Do you keep a to-do list? The power of such a simple thing to keep your head clear of worrying about things is very evident. When it’s written down, it’s out of your head and onto the paper. Like a magic spell, the words hold it there; it is no longer your mind’s job to do so. It can let go and relax.

To write something – to put your thoughts into words and onto paper – provides you with the space to listen to your own voice. Your real voice. Your inner voice. The one that is so often quieted, by other louder insistent voices in your life. To put pen to paper is to silence those other voices and like turning a radio dial, to tune into yourself again. Journalling is keeping a record of the story of your life, as told by you. And stories help make sense of things.

I’ve been writing since I was a child. Diary writing, story writing, letter writing, poems, blogs.  I loved the escapism of creative writing and later, the hyper-realism: how you can lose yourself in writing and simultaneously, find yourself there. Writing helps me work things out. It dissects emotions and feelings under the light of attention. It helps me unravel knots of thoughts and find out what I really am thinking/feeling. I would be lost without it.

I kept a diary/journal into my twenties and into it poured all my worries and wonderings, rantings and musings.  It was a catalogue of growing up, a space for reflection, and with reflection comes self-knowledge. It was where I examined with each word and sentence what exactly was going on in my life and what my responses to it were. It was a way to commune with my true self. When writing about things, I felt like I was making them ‘right.’ Telling myself the story of my life was a way to appreciate it as such and to look at it from a more knowledgeable perspective. Looking back on that time I can really say it was an invaluable practice.

Writing is a great way to express feelings. To get them ‘off your chest’ and out onto the page. There’s a great word for this from Greek called ‘catharsis’ – the act of releasing pent-up or repressed emotions. When you write about these feelings, they leave you. They are expressed. This is essential to our wellbeing. Therapists recommend it all the time. To write about how you are feeling acknowledges the feeling and puts you at a distance from it. In writing about it, you can translate and transform it, until you gain a sense of peace and move on from it.

Poetry is an excellent way of doing this.  Poetry allows us to decode emotions, explaining them to ourselves through its tools of symbolism, metaphor, imagery.  If I can contain an emotion within a poem, then it is stored somewhere else other than my psyche. The power of poetry to translate emotions is incomparable, I think. It is: ‘when an emotion has found its thought, and the thought has found words’ (to quote Robert Frost). I always think of emotions as these vaporous, glowing entities, hard to grasp as they slip and shimmy about us. But poetry helps solidify them, catch them with a net and shine a light on them. What is this thing and how am I experiencing it and what does it have to teach me? Writing a poem is a journey and always at the end of it, there is understanding to be found, which offers the greatest sense of wellbeing. It’s my go-to method of dealing with strong emotions.

Did you know that writing about positive experiences for as little as 15 minutes three times a week can significantly boost feelings of wellbeing and reduce stress and anxiety? You can write a daily diary entry, or a journal topic or perhaps some little scribbled notes of a poem or an idea for a story. Or gratitude journalling – just jotting down three things you are grateful for at the end of every day. Within a year you will have hundreds of little footnotes of joy. Things we may forget completely if they are not immortalised in words. Writing gives power to things. You are creating a world for yourself with words. A better world that will improve your mindset.

Writing is also an exercise in mindfulness. As I type this article I am lulled by the rhythmic tapping of keys and the timbre of thoughts. It is the same when you handwrite something, the pen carries you along in the moment. The blank page quietens the mind. It focuses you on the moment, on each word as it comes. Writing attunes us to the present moment and keeps our minds from wandering.

I really began to think about the wellbeing aspects of writing during Covid. During the lockdown I set up a Facebook group for friends and writers I knew to come together where we could share daily writing as a way of easing the stress of the time. Something quick and easy, like haiku. A haiku is a short three-line nature-based poem, rooted in paying attention to the present moment. From all over the world, members would post in their daily offerings of haiku, usually more than one in the day. We were suddenly, collectively, paying attention to moments of peace and beauty in our lives, despite the strange, unsettling time we were living in, and these little moments became so important to us. They were a comfort, a calm, a nucleus of loveliness. Three little lines of uplifting observation. The group is still going today. We haven’t been able to give it up! Just spending a few minutes in the day to scribble a couple of lines lifts the spirits so much and shifts mood. This is the power of writing.

In 2022-2023 I facilitated a weekly series of Writing for Wellbeing workshops at Foyle New Horizons: Action Mental Health in Derry. I got to meet so many wonderful people there who were so open to the benefits of writing in their wellness journey. I facilitate a lot of writing classes and workshops, but I find Writing for Wellbeing ones really inspiring. I welcome every chance to facilitate them and share the benefits of writing with people and have been lucky to do so in the past few years with groups like Insight Inishowen to promote positive mental health. People tend to open up and share their innermost thoughts and feelings with each other in these workshops which is truly inspiring. All of the creative arts are so beneficial for wellbeing, but writing in particular is quite a powerful one in bringing us face to face with a better understanding of ourselves and of the human condition.

It makes me sad to think that some people may have a resistance to writing because of things like grammar and a feeling that they would not be able for it. There is no right and wrong when it comes to writing. It is not a test. You write what you want to write. What calls your heart. In whatever form it may be. Don’t be put off by things like grammar and rules. Break the rules! Poetry doesn’t have to rhyme! Journal entries don’t have to be pages long! Don’t tell yourself you have nothing to write about. We all have our own stories. Don’t silence them. Writing, unlike some of the other creative arts, costs nothing in terms of material needs. All you need is a pen and paper. You do not need an easel to begin or a set of fancy pens or a predisposed talent. Just begin with scribbles. See where they take you.

Writing will surprise you. That is a guarantee. Every time you put pen to paper, you are led on a journey. You will discover reservoirs of insight and wisdom you didn’t know you had; a lot of writing feels like you are taking ‘dictation’ – listening to some other source, and not writing it yourself. Any writer will tell you this is the best part of writing. Like free-falling. The part when we transcend our blocks and critical hang-ups and tune in to our authentic, wise, and inner selves. And it just flows.  

Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way said that ‘writing is medicine.’ It makes us better. It cures us of our ailments. It is a companion to life’s changes. It is certainly all that. And a welcome addition to the world of wellbeing.

Siobhán’s poems have been published in numerous publications including The Honest Ulsterman, The Ekphrastic Review, Drawn to the Light Press, The Poetry Village and more. She featured on Donegal Daily’s We are the Poets Series 2020 and Eat the Storms, TER and Absolute Writers Podcasts. She volunteers with mental health charity Insight Inishowen.

She blogs at www.a-blog-of-ones-own.blogspot.com and www.a-poem-a-day-project.blogspot.com

WCI-Donegal are always looking for women to share their stories and looking for women to write features on topics of their choice which we will profile as part of our Women’s Lives, Women’s Voices’ series.

Life as it’s meant to be

Feb20

This WCI Donegal, ‘Women’s Lives, Women’s Voices’ feature is written by Helen O Driscoll. Helen has led a varied life full of excitement and exuberance, but the essence of Helen is best described as someone who has a massive welcoming smile who loves to help others holistically. This is Helen’s story.

Being born on a dairy farm in West Cork has cemented my love for nature and Mother Earth and I realise it has, and continues to be, a rich resource for me as I navigate this journey called ‘Life’!! Being in nature, the sea, the woods etc is my safe place. We all need to identify what helps us most when we are going through the not so ‘sparkly’ times in our life and whatever that is, be it music, dancing, nature, crafting, writing, storytelling etc. Finding out what soothes our soul is essential, or at least it has been for me as I travelled and lived in London, Preston, Glasgow, Middle East, Australia, Spain and other European places. Finally landing back in Donegal some 7 years ago, a place where nature and the sea is in abundance.

Perhaps it was this early nurturing of animals that led me on my path to becoming a nurse, and gaining over 30 years’ experience, working in a variety of clinical settings. Starting my career in the nursing medical field I moved on to specialise in the Intensive Care (ITU) working in general, cardiac, burns and pediatric (ITC), in the UK, Ireland and the Middle East. Witnessing first- hand the experience of trauma and the body’s capacities to heal, the first seeds were scattered, germinating later in deeper study in this area.

From nursing I moved into the corporate arena, working for a number of large American multinationals, predominantly in the area of wellbeing, absence, project and change management, and employee assistance programmes. I was responsible for setting up the UKs first ever telephonic Disease Management Programme, as well as co designing and delivering one of the first ever Case Management programmes in the UK, wellbeing being at the core of both these programmes. Because of my long-standing interest in wellbeing and body work alongside my clinical and corporate roles, a life-long passion and commitment to individual’s wellbeing and a deep curiosity about body mind medicine, I trained as a Master Practitioner in Reiki, Neuro Linguistic Practitioner (NLP – Master), Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT- Level 3) and Integrated Energy Therapy (IET- Level 3)). I also completed the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course, Mindfulness in Schools (BiBo,) Breath Mastery and Tension Release Exercises (TRE),

My day job as the NW Living Well coordinator (a free HSE programme for people living with chronic conditions) and my additional roles as a facilitator with two Mental Health charities reflect my long-standing love and interest in facilitation and wellbeing so I went onto complete my Masters in Advanced Facilitation for promoting Health and Wellbeing, receiving a first-class honor. I witness a magic that unfolds when facilitating groups and wanted to learn the academic side of that also, along with a healthy dollop of how our own personal pieces affect a group.

Over the years I have read, listened to, and generally immersed myself in anything relating to understanding how our minds work, how emotions and especially unresolved emotions affect us. I recently furthered my study with two energy psychology modalities that specialise in subconscious reprogramming called Belief Coding®(uses elements of Psychology, NLP, CBT, EFT, Meditation, Matrix-Reimprinting, Emotion Coding, Kinesiology and Energy Healing and is accredited by the CBD Certification process) and Mind Navigation. These latter modalities being especially valuable where there has been an impact through trauma. My interest finds expression in the constantly emerging mind body field and brings together all my knowledge and the bespoke workshops that I create design and facilitate reflect this. This led naturally to running my first retreat in Jan 2023 with a particular focus on the Sacred Divine Feminine.

Fashion psychology is of particular interest to me and I completed a fashion diploma! I am an avid charity shopper with 90% clothing coming from there. From my research I got to know what I have always felt is the way we dress adds another dimension to ones overall wellbeing. This interest has lead to the development of my courses “Do You Wear You” (DYWY) and “Do You Show Your True Colours” and I am looking forward to delivering the DYWY course this May, in a couple of libraries, as part of the Bealtaine celebrations in Donegal.

Alongside all of this, I have been exploring, experiencing and deepening my interest in spirituality. You could say I am out of the ‘Spiritual closet’ as I truly believe that spirituality fills in the gaps that intelligence and emotion fail to fill. Victor Frankl (2000) in his book ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’ says that a person is body, mind and spirit and who had a feel for a higher essence, could withstand much hardship, despite desperate physical conditions.

My extensive travels have included the Pyramids of Giza, Machu Picchu in Peru, Acropolis in Athens, Coliseum in Rome, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, and many more destinations. My travels are for me, reminders that humans have always had this desire for the ultimate purpose or meaning of life, and that my ancestors have grappled with a desire to connect with something beyond their existence. Living my own life, I have a deep knowing that there is more. As a result I am open to change and growth and all of the other ‘spiritual ingredients’ required for a fully rich and nourished life. As Rumi’s (n.d.)says ”I looked in the temples churches and mosques. But I found the Divine within my heart”.   I move towards anything that enriches this in me, as it helps to avoid the hardness that can come with life’s wounds that we all experience.

John Moriarty was recorded in a conversation with Tommy Tiernan in which he says that dolphins who had been land animals went down to the sea and said to the ocean ”shape me to suit you”. What a great way to live life, full of trust that all is unfolding as it is meant to because we are all part of the greater mystery and it is certainly how I always aim to live this life of mine. Staying with the theme of trusting how life unfolds, I recently did the Sexual Health and Wellness Course as part of my continuous professional development and among the many things I learned on this course, was the lack of real education around sexuality, more especially the big gap that that there is  between spirituality, sensuality, and sexuality. I am stepping up into how life wants to shape me, so to bridge this gap in sexual and spiritual education, my friend Siobhan and I are organizing a live event called ‘Enlightenment in the Bedroom’. We will be presenting cutting-edge conversations that unravel the mysteries around sexuality, sexual wellness, relationships and intimacy that are relevant to all our lives and all our experiences. Come with an open heart and an open mind and you are guaranteed to leave with insight and information that will make a difference in your life. You can find details here.

WCI-Donegal are always looking for women to share their stories and looking for women to write features on topics of their choice which we will profile as part of our Women’s Lives, Women’s Voices’ series.

Nothing is Beyond Your Reach

Jul5

This feature is part of the Women’s Collective Ireland- Donegal, “Women’s Lives, Women’s Voices’ series. Written by Siobhan Cullen LLb Msc Solicitor Mediator. This story recounts Siobhan’s life from childhood, her passion for justice and equality and the journey that led to her being appointed as one of the Equality Commissioners for Northern Ireland.

I have always had a strong interest in equality and anti-discrimination policies, possibly due to my upbringing by Irish emigrant parents in North London. My dad was from Dublin and mum is from Donegal and they moved to London in 1960 where they lived for 40 years before returning to Donegal. We lived in a very diverse and multi-ethnic community on a council estate which was a brilliant experience in terms of developing social skills, resilience and acted as a grounding for my interest in equality.

I recall incidents during the 1970’s and 1980’s involving discriminatory behaviour by the authorities. One thing I recall is the regular police questioning of my next-door neighbours, who were from the West Indies, about their whereabouts when a crime had been committed locally. There was also some anti-Irish sentiment during the 1980’s and I vividly remember anti-Irish graffiti being sprayed locally during the troubles.

I felt very much part of the Irish community in London and social justice was often on my mind so, at the age of 14, I decided that I wanted to become a criminal defence solicitor. As the first person in my family to go to college, I attended Middlesex University in Hendon aged 18. I initially felt slightly challenged and lacking in confidence as a student. I’ve always empathised with students who feel this way as I remember it well, especially on the first day when I was tempted to leave the lecture hall amid many vocal and confident peers. It was the empathy and inclusive attitude of certain lecturers that engaged me, something I later aspired to become in my own teaching career.

I obtained a first-class law degree and qualified as a solicitor three years later, aged 24, specialising in criminal defence and family law. I worked for eight years in a legal aid firm in Tottenham, North London during which time I probably learnt more than during any other time in my life.

This experience shaped me and made me who I am today, without a doubt. It was fulfilling work but also challenging as many clients had suffered trauma and abuse as well as having addiction and mental health issues. I spent much of my time in police stations and court and represented clients in every type of case imaginable, some very traumatic.

I really enjoyed the family law work, representing many women in domestic violence applications and child-care proceedings. I found representing clients in court, especially juvenile cases, so incredibly interesting and fulfilling. It was also challenging as legal aid work was hugely under-funded, something which has unfortunately disimproved even more in recent years. In my view, legal aid is a crucial aspect of access to justice which was my entire purpose back then and this remains so today. I also volunteered for FLAC during this time and set up a legal advice clinic in the local psychiatric hospital.

In 1999 I moved to Ireland, always my “spiritual home”, and undertook a Masters in Equality Studies at UCD and then begun an academic career with Letterkenny Institute of Technology (LYIT) where I remained for twenty-two years. I loved working with students and delivered modules in Family & Child Law, Legal Systems, Restorative Justice, Tort, Law in Action, Mediation and Street Law, the latter of which is my all-time favourite aspect of legal education.

Street Law is a form of public legal education whereby law students are trained to deliver law programmes in schools and community settings, developing their skills through experiential learning but also really enhancing the legal knowledge of the participants. It helps to remove the mystique and elitism often associated with law and build legal literacy skills within communities which really enables people to embrace the law, use it to their advantage and not view it as something to be feared.

I developed the Street Law programme at LYIT with a brilliant colleague who has a similar interest in experiential learning, and we worked with many fantastic students, many of whom I am still in contact with as they embark upon and continue their professional careers. This is one advantage of social media as it makes networking and keeping in touch with alumni so much easier, which is mutually beneficial. I was Head of Department of Law, Public Service and Education for 5 years and then took a career break last year to embrace some new and exciting challenges.

I joined the Open University as a law lecturer, and I cannot speak highly enough of the OU’s policies and practices in relation to accessibility, inclusivity, and student-centred ethos. It really does walk the walk. The flexibility of online distance learning is so appealing, the student body is diverse with many students having full-time jobs and family commitments, caring responsibilities and some residing in secure accommodation. Colleagues are incredibly supportive of each other as well as students and the social justice ethos prevails at every level. The fairness and equality which underpins every aspect of the OU, from student-facing policies to staff policies, is authentic and an exemplar of what EDI means in practice. An example would be that every assessment is reviewed by several critical readers to ensure compliance with policies and accessibility to all students with alternative versions provided for students with additional needs or accessibility issues.

My recent appointment as an Equality Commissioner for Northern Ireland (ECNI) has really been extremely fulfilling. I am privileged to work with such a brilliant organisation, supporting and maintaining equality by monitoring compliance with statutory duties, providing legal assistance in legal actions and raising awareness. The work undertaken by the commission is crucial and some of the recently successful cases are testament to this. This is a particularly challenging time in Northern Ireland with post-Brexit issues and I am honoured to work with fantastic colleagues, both commissioners and the legal officers/ full-time staff to support the community through these challenging times.

I am also a Tribunal member with the Mental Health Commission as I have always had a strong interest in mental health, and I strongly believe that the Tribunals play a vital role in upholding human rights and rights of persons detained.

I have recently been appointed as a Tribunal member with IPAT (International Protection Appeals Tribunal) which hears appeals from applicants seeking refugee status and/or subsidiary protection.

I’m on the Board of Donegal Sports Partnership, an amazing organisation based entirely on the ethos of inclusivity, accessibility with a real focus on sport for those of us with additional needs as well as gender and ethnicity.

I am currently Chair of Donegal Women’s Centre which provides invaluable services to local women, including medical, counselling and programme facilitation. Again, there is a great team delivering these vital services with such commitment and drive which is a common theme in the community/ voluntary sector.

I am also a voluntary panel assessor with Athena Swan Ireland which considers applications from HEI’s for gender equality recognition, a very significant development within the education sector. Gender equality is an issue that is very high on my personal agenda from every perspective, and I am delighted to have been appointed Athena Swan lead at the OU Law School for 2023/24.

I hope my story, including humble beginnings, initial lack of confidence as a law student and the development of my career trajectory will inspire other women to follow their dreams.

If in doubt, I would say to volunteer as this is such a good pathway to experience and demonstrates commitment.  I have always done some voluntary work and hopefully this will continue. The common theme in all my current roles is teamwork and commitment which are key to supporting communities and developing change.

There are so many aspects to law, some more lucrative than others, yet I find that the areas I have chosen to work in are the most fulfilling for me personally.

I started working in criminal defence, my dream aged 14, and I am now in a place I have always wanted to be, enhancing equality and human rights with only one goal in mind, improving access to both justice and education for everyone.

WCI-Donegal are always looking for women to share their stories and looking for women to write features on topics of their choice which we will profile as part of our Women’s Lives, Women’s Voices’ series.