News & Events

ADHD Ireland continue to host events that inform and reassure all of those interested in the organisation and their work, with two upcoming webinars this month.

ADHD Ireland, the resident Carmichael organisation, regularly hold events with industry-experts and entertainment figures; always looking to inform and educate all interested parties. On February 25, there will be a webinar titled ‘The Human Microbiome and Neurodiversity’. While on March 4 there will be another webinar, this one titled ‘ADHD Parent Tips and Strategies’.

The February 25 event will be led by Alejandro Arias Vasquez, an expert in this specific area of the human microbiome in terms of ADHD. ADHD Ireland explain in the event biography that ‘this talk will be delivered by Alejandro Arias Vasquez’s one of the leading researchers in the area and his goal is to find genes involved in the variation of brain traits as well as for genes involved in the risk of complex neuropsychiatric diseases’.

The price of this event is just €5, a meagre figure for an event which will be so informative and helpful to so many. To book in for this event simply follow the instructions on this webpage. Following the February 25 event, there will be a parent-focused event on March 4 ‘ADHD Parents Tips and Strategies’.

This event will be headed by Una O’Brien, a speech and language therapist with ‘years of experience supporting families working through the challenges of ADHD’. Una will discuss a range of tips and useful strategies for managing your ADHD child’s routine at this uncertain time and will be open to taking questions either in advance via email to info@adhdireland.ie.

As a follow on from this webinar, Una will be facilitating two 5 week Parents Plus courses, one coming up in February and one in March. There is also a teen course coming up in April. Excitingly, this will be a completely free event, but to book in you must visit the page here. For further events, keep an eye on the ADHD Ireland website here.

ADHD host regular events, so to keep up, they have lots of social media pages to never miss an event. Find their Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter by clicking on the links.

The Irish Motor Neuron Disease Association are taking part in a sponsored silence campaign in a major fundraiser. The IMNDA are hoping to raise funds for their association and in turn, to increase motor neuron disease awareness throughout this campaign.

The resident Carmichael organisation, the IMNDA, will run the sponsored silence campaign which will use the hashtag #Voice4MND. The premise is supporters will stay silent for a total of 30 minutes, in order to experience what it is like to lose your voice like those with motor neuron disease.

The stats show that more than 80% of those living with MND will go on suffer some level of speech difficulty, with many losing their speech completely. Funds raised will go a long way to assist the IMNDA in their help and supports they provide for the MND community in Ireland.

For example, the IMNDA operate a free information phone line for those in need of information and general help with all that comes with an MND diagnosis. There is much more to their work however.

They employed four nurses, they have access to specialised equipment on a loan basis to all clients, once recommended by an occupational therapy etc. The money raised will really go to a multitude of vital services, not least bereavement counselling.

To date, the IMNDA have raised over €23,000, with 49 entrants having stayed silent for a total of 333 hours. As the IMNDA says, sometimes silence is louder than words. To keep informed with all the work of IMNDA you can check out their website here.

Finally, you can check out their social media too, their Twitter here, their Facebook here, and their YouTube here.

The next round of the Carmichael Mentor Programme is now open for applications. To date over 100 CEOs and managers of nonprofit organisations have benefited from the Carmichael Mentoring Programme.  We are now launching the next round of the mentoring scheme. 

Being the leader of an organisation can be tough anywhere but it is especially true in the nonprofit sector. The value of a mentor is having someone who can ask questions that clarify the situation and can help relieve the anxiety that builds when there is nowhere to articulate the doubts and concerns that the CEO may feel.

The purpose of the Carmichael Mentor scheme is to help meet with this need by using our panel of very experienced mentors who bring a range of skills, insights and backgrounds in a range of sector such as large corporate, SME, public sector and the nonprofit sector. Our mentors are volunteers and will provide confidential one-to-one advice and guidance.

This mentoring round is limited to 12 places and the service for successful applicants is free.

If you wish to apply, please visit https://www.carmichaelireland.ie/what-we-do/supports/mentoring/ for more information and the short application form. The form should be sent to Roisin@carmichaelireland.ie by close of business, Friday the 26^th of February.

Carmichael would also love to hear from people who may be interested in becoming a mentor for this programme.

The programme is only available to those working in the nonprofit sector.

Kindly supported by: 

Carmichael, in partnership with a number of Volunteer Centres and Waterford PPN, are organising a series of free workshops for non-profit organisations on “Developing your Annual Report”.

The aim of this practical hands-on workshop is to understand the preparation of the Annual Report from the perspective of the Board Members, Directors, Trustees.

Each workshop covers the basics of what is required in an annual report and then focuses on how to use the annual report as a way of showing the public, your members and funders how good your organisation is. The session will involve presentations and working in groups. These workshops are aimed at smaller charities (annual income of less than €250,000), particularly, at charities with income of less than €50,000.

The workshops are free thanks to the support of Community Foundation Ireland.

For more details and to register, contact the relevant Volunteer Centre or PPN.

The RCNI this week launched their Clinical Innovation Project; a multi-faceted project aimed at working with and for the training of counsellors and therapists in the area of sexual violence with Dr Jessica Taylor.

Working with the renounced Dr Jessica Taylor of Victim Focus, the January 18 event was delivered alongside a fully qualified ISL interpreter, and can be viewed in full here. The aforementioned Dr Taylor is a UK based psychologist, survivor and author of best-selling book Why Women Are Blamed For Everything. Furthermore, Dr Taylor has co—created a ‘pioneering new world-standard training and evidence gathering programme on counselling survivors of sexual violence in a post-pandemic world’.

With everything in the world, Covid-19 has had a devastating effect on how such organisations can help those in need. With that, the Programme, called Counselling Survivors On and Off-Line, has emerged from the experience of the Covid-19 lockdown when Rape Crisis Centres had to be vacated and when trauma counselling services had to move on-line.

The next phase in this project is a Q&A session for mental health professionals, which will be facilitated by RCNI’s own Dr Michelle Walsh, and Dr Jessica Taylor. This event is penned in for January 25 and will be free to register. This will take place over Zoom, and places can be booked here.

According to Cliona Saidlear, Director of RCNI, the change in the provision of RCC counselling services brought about by the Covid-19 lockdown impacted profoundly on the quality and nature of the deep intervention required for survivors, in ways that could not have been predicted and that are still not fully understood.

“While there is some optimism that a vaccine for Covid-19 may mean a return to some normality in 2021, the impact of Covid and dealing with the trauma of sexual violence within a global shared trauma of a pandemic is not going to disappear,” she said.

The latest RCNI press release reveals startling data. For example, RCNI data from the initial lockdown period in 2020 illustrated ‘significant increases and changes in survivor engagement. There was a 23% increase in contacts made to Rape Crisis Centre Helplines. Almost all of those already in counselling in the centres could switch to remote counselling but some could not’.

As mentioned in previous blog posts, the Rape Crisis Network of Ireland (RCNI) are a Carmichael resident organisation. You can read all about their fantastic work here. Finally, you can keep up to date with their social media accounts handily; their Facebook here, and their Twitter here.

Smashing Times are delighted to host two online workshops later this month, a perfect remedy for what can otherwise be a tough time for many.

On January 21 there will be an online workshop focusing on health and well-being, which will be completely free. Then on January 23 there will be an online workshop which looks at the marker of 99 years since the formation of the Irish state. Taking into account progress made, the workshop will delve into the inequalities which remain within society today. This course will cost €15, or €5 for a concession.

The January 21 course will be a great opportunity to ‘learn new skills’, according to Smashing Times. They say it will focus primarily on general theater games which are a great avenue to meet new people, improve language skills, and so much more.

This will be a two hour course held over zoom and no experience is necessary. For more information and to register for the event simply head over to their site here. On January 23 there will be a two hour course which delves deep into history, but always looking for a modern perspective.

As arbiters of equality for Irish society, Smashing Times will examine the formation of the Republic of Ireland from the key focus of equality; where it has been gained, and in some cases, not. Partnering with Dublin Castle, Heritage Services of the Office of Public Works for the event, there will be fun theater games will be used to help illustrate to people themes of equality of diversity.

Smashing Times would like to note that although there is a few for this event (€15/€5) exceptions can be made for those who cannot meet ticket cost. For information they should contact Niamh at info@smashingtimes.ie.

Smashing Times are a resident Carmichael organisation. A theater company which focuses on promoting diversity within Ireland, their work bands the world together in the most positive sense. You can keep up date with all their work here.

Finally, you can follow their social media accounts too; their Facebook here, and their Twitter here.

Mental Health Reform are delighted to host two events as part of the First Fortnight Festival 2021 on January 13 and 14.

There will be one event called ‘Conversation Café’ focusing on conversations with young people on mental health, and another called ‘Dear Diary’, which is an invitation for members of the public to tell their own mental health stories in a short stories.

The First Fortnight Festival is a programme of events set up by First Fortnight which focuses on thought-provoking conversations regarding positive mental health reform and attitude within society. Mental Health Reform are one of the organisations working with First Fortnight to create the catalogue of events which make up the two day festival.

The Conversation Café will look to create conversations among groups of young people about mental health in the strange world of 2021. Focusing primarily with people from Tipperary, Clare and Limerick, this event ‘will explore some of the challenges young people face in maintaining good mental health and will create a space for people to come together to look towards better mental health services and supports.’

Dear Diary hopes to engage the public in a sphere where the very personal meets the very public. Mental Health Reform are looking for the public to send in short stories (aprrox 300 words) with their own mental health stories. Certain themes emerging from these stories will be on display and then discussed by a panel on the day.

Mental Health Reform are a Carmichael resident organisation, and one Ireland’s leading national coalition on mental health. With over 70 member organisations, they work together to drive progressive reform of mental health services and supports in Ireland.

You can keep up to date all news from Mental Health Reform by bookmarking their fantastic website, and also by following their social media accounts; their Facebook here, and their Twitter here to list but a few.

Independent Living Movement Ireland (ILMI) are pleased to kick off the New Year with a social night led by Alan Gardner on January 14. The Carmichael resident organisation are delighted the award winning designer has agreed to be their guest for the night.

Alan Gardner is an award winning garden designer and presenter of two Channel 4 series. On the night Alan will be recounting escapades, challenges and accolades all the while telling it like it really is.

Alan is the design genius and creative powerhouse of 40 Royal Horticultural Society show gardens. He has won numerous awards at Chelsea and Hampton Court not to mention two gold medals at Tatton Park. His work is driven by passion fueled by his love of architecture, conceptual art and the wider landscape around him.

Alan presented The Autistic Gardener on Channel 4, his mentoring and hands on approach led his team of gardening novices to achieve their goals by apprenticing and igniting true design within them. This is Alan’s forte, a designer sensei for the 21st century. Alan also hosted the Channel 4 series The Avant Gardener applying a monumental design discipline to amaze and transform large outdoor spaces across the UK.

ILMI are a group ‘led by disabled people, promoting a rights-based social model of disability, challenging a charity/medical view of disability’. The ILMI state that Independent Living is about ‘having the freedom to have the same choices that everyone else has in housing, transportation, education and employment’.

There are many ways to get involved with the IMNI, and many avenues in which they can help improve the lives of many. The most efficient way to get involved is to sign up to their eBulletin and see how you can become involved, email info@ilmi.ie.

To book in for the January 14 event with Alan Gardner simply email info@ilmi.ie to register your interest. For more information on the ILMI check out their website here. Also, you can find their social media accounts easily; Facebook here, and Twitter here.

ADHD Ireland will end the year on a high note, hosting a comedy night hosted by Karl Spain on December 18. The stage will suitably remain virtual, as has been the case for the majority of 2020, with the show kicking off at 9pm.

Hosted by the brilliant Irish comedian Karl Spain, the night promises a fun-filled show of laughs from start to finish. The Limerick native, Karl Spain will MC the show, with the likes of Paul Marsh, Aka Mr Dead Sound, and Patrick Monahan will be among the tight-knit line-up.

For just one hour the comedy night promises to bring joy to the audience in a year in which we all badly needed a laugh. What’s even more good news about the event, it will be completely free to be part of the audience! To register for the event just visit this link.

The line-up may not be huge given the short show in store, but it is not short in quality! For example, Spain appeared at the Montreal Just for Laughs comedy festival in 2003, which was later repeated on RTÉ Television. He is a regular at the Kilkenny Cat Laughs comedy festival. Spain later ran a series on RTÉ entitled Karl Spain Wants a Woman. He appeared as master of kung-fu on the fifth series of Killinaskully in October 2008.

Patrick Monahan meanwhile is an Irish-Iranian comedian, who won the television competition series Take the Mike in 2001 and Show Me the Funny in 2011. He has performed regularly at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Paul Marsh is an award winning Comedian from Tipperary. He arrived on the Irish comedy scene in 2011 by winning Ireland’s biggest newcomer award, The Capital Comedy Competition and He followed this impressive start up by supporting some of Ireland’s top comedians like Neil Delamere, PJ Gallagher and Karl Spain.

ADHD Ireland, a resident Carmichael organisation, provide vital supports and research for the ADHD community in Ireland. This event will be a great opportunity for the community to come together let off some steam following a tumultuous and testing 2020.

To follow all news and events from ADHD Ireland make sure to follow them on social media; you can find their Facebook here, their LinkedIn here and their Twitter here. Finally, don’t forget – to be a part of the virtual audience for the event just visit this page.

The Rape Crisis Network Ireland (RCNI) are having a data launch on December 16, presenting their 2019 data from across their nationwide Rape Crisis Centres (RCCs). Notably, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee will be launching this survivor evidence.

There will be several well versed speakers on the day dissecting the data, including Detective Chief Superintendent Declan Daly (Garda National Protective Services Bureau), Dr. Marceline Naudi (President, Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO), and Dr. Clíona Saidléar (RCNI Executive Director).

The December 16 event will illuminate what survivors of sexual violence told the RCNI and asked of them in 2019. The data was and collated across a sample of seven Rape Crisis Centres throughout the country.

It is a particularly poignant time for the RCNI, with the government set to ‘radically overhaul how we respond to sexual violence with the Government audit of its infrastructure responding to sexual and domestic violence in April 2021.

RCNI state that ‘their ambition is that survivors’ voices driving this transformation will establish Ireland as best in Europe’ when reviewed under the Istanbul Convention by GREVIO in February 2022.

To register for this free event visit this link. The RCNI are the representative body for RCCs across the nation. The role includes the development and coordination of national projects including expert data collection, supporting RCCs to reach best practice standards, and using their expertise to influence national policy and social change.

The RCNI are a resident Carmichael and as ever we are delighted to promote events like this. To learn more about their work, simply visit their website here. Finally, make sure to follow their social media account: their Facebook here, and their Twitter here.