When I told people that Social Entrepreneurs Ireland was sending me on a journey through southern India I was frequently warned to expect a moment when “It” will hit me. “It” can be anything; for one of my fellow travellers it was a meeting a beggar who shared the same severe disability as two of her children.
Each surgeon completes 100 operations a day
‘It’ hit me in the ...
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In February 2013, Social Entrepreneurs Ireland sent me on the trip of a lifetime to meet social innovators in the India. We started in Bangalore; it was wonderful: perfect weather, incredible people and the best food I’ve ever had.
As I listened to the fascinating insights of the people we met I was struck by one word that seemed to colour every conversation: “contradiction”. I began to understand this during an incredible walking ...
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‘Man is nothing else but what he purposes, he exists only in so far as he realizes himself, he is therefore nothing else but the sum of his actions, nothing else but what his life is.’ (“Man Makes Himself” by Jean-Paul Sartre)
Since Steve had his stroke in 2006 I had not spent a night away from him and our girls. Since our eldest daughter was born almost 13 years ...
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I remember the first time I went to Trinity College Dublin. It was my final year in school and I had been invited to the Trinity Ball. As I stepped through the gates, the noise of the traffic disappeared and the grey cityscape was exchanged for the magnificence of the Exam Hall and the music of Strauss. I remember feeling as though I had been transported into a perfect oasis.
That memory was in stark ...
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In the summer of 2011 my blog stopped appearing, my Facebook stopped posting and my Twitter stopped tweeting. There are lots of reasons for this, the main one was my intense focus on an incredible opportunity that I had to grab with both hands.
Research & Hope has always been a labour of love. I poured my heart and soul into creating the website and I am just as passionate about my ‘baby’ as I was at the start. ...
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On 15th June 2011 I hosted the first ever Research & Hope event. When I realised I had the opportunity to host a talk by Professor Vincent Walsh on ‘Brain stimulation and stroke’ I was thrilled … and then I panicked.
I have attended and spoken at numerous events but I had no idea how to organise one. I am very grateful, therefore, that Care Alliance came to my rescue. They agreed to co-host the event ...
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Social Entrepreneurs Ireland (SEI) runs an extraordinary competition to win funding and support over two years. I started to write this blog when I had reached the final 18 of the competition in 2011 and before I knew whether I would be in the last eight who are all guaranteed a prize. I began to write the day before I submitted my final documents; I chose that ...
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I seem to have lived many different lives. I have studied and worked in various countries. I was a university student, part- or full-time, for 12 years; I have had several careers, from lecturer to business consultant; I have been a girlfriend, a partner, a wife and a mother. As I moved through these different phases of my life, I simply adapted. I seemed to know how to adjust to each new situation, more ...
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I launched the Research & Hope website in February 2011. It is now three years later and I am working to improve and update the website. From the beginning I have had the same moral dilemma as I now face: do I hold fast to my ethical principles, or earn enough money to speed up the research and help more people?
My choice so far has been to stay with my principles and do without the ...
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For the first five years after Steve’s stroke I spent many waking hours sitting alone in front of my computer. Every time I sat down I knew that my research could help Steve but I didn’t know if anyone else would be interested in the website I was creating. So many elements were needed to create Research & Hope, from hours of web design, infinite reading lists and endless searching for ...
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