Brigid O’Dea

Congratulations 🤩🤩

Brigid O'Dea: We miss out on many things because of chronic illness ... love should not be one Why did a woman with congenital heart disease choose to lose her virginity to man in whom she had little interest?

Brigid O'Dea: We miss out on many things because of chronic illness ... love should not be one

For the first time in a long time, my body shrugged the exertion off On a longer-than-expected trek in the heat of Santorini, I waited anxiously for the inevitable migraine attack – but it never came

www.irishtimes.com/health/your-...

"It’s rare privilege when living with ill health to look an error in the face and say, “What of it?”"

This month's column 🧚‍♂️

Artists at the Intersection of Work and Welfare - The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon

artscouncil.ie/research-and... (a really brilliant report)

Let’s face it ‘reach for the stars’ is not a very Irish mantra Many disabled artists would opt for the ‘humble’ option of requesting lesser or no payment for work. Reaching for the stars is too risky

www.irishtimes.com/health/your-...

Pitbull, the stars, humility and academic Philip Finn's report 'Low-Income Disabled Artists’ Navigation of Welfare and Working Lives' (link below)

‘It feels like home to me’: Mr Price staff demonstrate value of employing disabled people Ireland has ‘one of the lowest employment rates’ in Europe for people with disabilities, which is ‘just not acceptable’, says Minister

‘It feels like home to me’: Mr Price staff demonstrate value of employing disabled people

I set two atheists up on a date. They spent the evening discussing God Without the structure of a formal belief system, we have the freedom to create our own understanding of life

www.irishtimes.com/health/your-...

It was almost 20 years ago now that I received the blessing of the sick. It was not without hope that I walked up the aisle with my hands across my chest. Embarrassed by the jittery shimmer of hope I held that this teenage girl was destined for a miracle

Minister backs retention of Basic Income for Arts scheme Minister for the Arts Patrick O'Donovan has publicly backed the retention of the Basic Income for the Arts scheme today saying that its impact is "far-ranging and affects all aspects of recipients' li...

Minister for the Arts Patrick O'Donovan has publicly backed the retention of the Basic Income for the Arts scheme today saying that its impact is 'far-ranging and affects all aspects of recipients' lives'

‘If my condition does not improve, does that make it my fault?’ I am not someone who typically engages with migraine beyond living with it ... It takes up enough of my time as it is

‘If my condition does not improve, does that make it my fault?’

Brigid O'Dea: ‘If my condition does not improve, does that make it my fault?’ I am not someone who typically engages with migraine beyond living with it ... It takes up enough of my time as it is

www.irishtimes.com/health/your-...

This piece marks the almost six month anniversary of my column with @irishtimes.com which is mad. I thought it was only to last six months.

Thanks as always to @damiancullen.bsky.social for his ongoing support!

Thank you ☺️☺️

Me please 🙏🏼🩵

‘There were four girls raped in front of us. Their mother cried for their safety’ Rape and sexual assault are used as weapons of war in Sudan. A refuge in Adre in Chad offers ‘a safe space for women and girls’ where they can make handicrafts and talk

We visited a women's centre in the refugee camp in Adre in Chad set up by a refugee and social worker, Zahra Adam Khimes. The stories are very upsetting but the women there were really resilient and open and kind to each other www.irishtimes.com/life-style/p...

My review of Oisín Fagan’s second novel , Eden’s Shore in today’s Ticket Mag

Eden’s Shore by Oisín Fagan: Labyrinthine novel brimming with life

www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...

Brigid O’Dea: I told my boyfriend about my soulmate, without registering his reaction You might consider my boyfriend’s take important to me. We are, after all, relatively new together

www.irishtimes.com/health/your-...

We are hiring! Join the @childrensbooksireland.ie team and help get books to children who need them. Deadline is next Weds 19th, more info at childrensbooksireland.ie/news-events/...

There is a shameful British tradition of demonising disabled people. Why is Labour reigniting it? | Frances Ryan Ministers run away from a wealth tax and then concoct a punitive benefits system. They have made that choice and it’s immoral, says Guardian columnist Frances Ryan

Labour’s reported disability benefit cuts are not just about budgeting but a belief: paid work is a virtue (and people who don’t perform it deserve a worse life than everyone else).

My col. in tomorrow’s paper. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Séamas O'Reilly: Arts funding rows hurt artists who struggle to break even "...it is hard to avoid the sense that the Government’s newfound notions of austerity will skip right past the men in suits and pass directly to the artists who rely on government funding to pursue th...

I wrote this on arts funding, and the queasy feeling that it'll be Irish artists who end up paying for yet another government procurement scandal.

www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle-co...

‘Some of you love sleep more than you love success.’ Bang on! How bad do I want it? I mulled over the question again while I ate my breakfast of egg and toast

www.irishtimes.com/health/your-...

with a headline that will surprise no one...

If you want your body to feel good, you need to treat it better When you live with chronic illness, you can’t afford to make the sacrifices required for what might be a deemed a ‘perfect appearance’

If you want your body to feel good, you need to treat it better

If you want your body to feel good, you need to treat it better When you live with chronic illness, you can’t afford to make the sacrifices required for what might be a deemed a ‘perfect appearance’

www.irishtimes.com/health/your-...

'But we don’t have that kind of time.

If this is what death teaches us, illness adds, “and we don’t have that kind of choice”.'

Wow - we're happy to be a recommended read of The Arts Council #ReadwithAC over on Facebook ❤️📕❤️

We're already thinking about the 2026 handbook—if there's something you'd like featured that's not there already, let us know.

Shares very welcome ☀️

@chaptersbookstore.bsky.social #writingcommunity

Clinics with Dave Rudden (January 2025) As part of his YPCE residency this year, Dave Rudden has arranged Open Day Clinics to engage with the wider IoE community, sharing his experience as a creative writing teacher and veteran of school au...

Following the wonderful response last year, as the Artist-in-Residence I am once again offering the #DCU
community one-on-one consultations! Come talk about creativity, teaching, the book you've always wanted to write, it's up to you. Details below!

docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Grace Paley, the Saint of Seeing The writer’s literary approach is to make a dazzling verbal surface that doesn’t so much linearly represent the world as remind us of its dazzle.

'Paley’s approach is to make a dazzling verbal surface that doesn’t so much linearly represent the world as remind us of its dazzle... she seems to say, the world has no need to be represented: there it is, all around us, all the time'

www.newyorker.com/books/page-t...

‘I told my manager I had epilepsy and was told any slacking off would not be tolerated’: Living with disability You don’t know any disabled people? Either you don’t know many people or they don’t feel safe enough to tell you

www.irishtimes.com/health/your-...
'You don’t know any disabled people? Either you don’t know many people or they don’t feel safe enough to tell you'

Currently 7th most read on the app which is cool 😎

My driving instructor texted me: ‘Things aren’t working out. I’ll transfer you back your money’

www.irishtimes.com/health/your-...

Lol that’s why I chose a man from the countryside 🙃

My driving instructor texted me: ‘Things aren’t working out. I’ll transfer you back your money’ My 33rd birthday came and there was still a big L on the licence in my purse. It was time to get creative

‘If I had €1 for every time a friend or family member asked when I was going to learn to drive, I’d have enough money to pay a private chauffeur…’

This month’s column

My driving instructor texted me: ‘Things aren’t working out. I’ll transfer you back your money’

www.irishtimes.com/health/your-...

Graphic with a white rectangle on a green patterned background. The text headline reads 'Closing this week' and underneath 'applications close 29th November 5pm'. Above the white rectangle is a graphic of a green bell on a black circle. The background is a repeat graphic of the green Laureate na nÓg logo on a lighter green background.

How best to say hello.. what about with a mentorship scheme for début children's writers facilitated by our very own Laureate na nÓg, Patricia Forde?

The Live Literature Performance mentoring scheme includes training, shadowing, and a weekend at the 2025 @childrensbooksireland.ie Conference