Sherie de Burgh Commemorative Events Series
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2025: Sixth Annual Sherie de Burgh Commemorative Event
2025 Event
The theme for this year’s Sherie de Burgh commemorative seminar jointly hosted by One Family and the School of Social Work and Social Policy in Trinity College Dublin is ‘Contact with Children Following Separation: Practice to Policy NGO–TCD Research Collaborations’.
Led by Dr Simone McCaughren, Assistant Professor, School of Social Work and Social Policy in Trinity College Dublin, in collaboration with Dr Aisling Parkes, Senior Lecturer in Law, School of law, University College Cork, Stephanie Holt, PhD, Professor in Social Work, FTCD in the School of Social Work & Social Policy, Trinity College Dublin and Soma Gregory, School of Social Work and Social Policy, Trinity College Dublin, the joint research by Trinity College Dublin, University College Cork and One Family, explores the experiences of one-parent families in Ireland and reflects on a cross-disciplinary perspective spanning social work and policy, law and psychology of the considerations for very young children in family law proceedings in Ireland.
The research consists of an in-depth international literature review on the issue of contact for children aged 0-6 year olds in separated families in Ireland and can be accessed here.
Panel
Chair
Dr Catherine Conlon – Assistant Professor, Social Policy School of Social Work and Social Policy, Trinity College Dublin.
Speakers
Andrew Munro – Head of Policy and Legislation for Civil Justice, Assistant Secretary General in the Department of Justice overseeing the development of the Family Justice Reform.
His Honour Judge Geoffrey Shannon – Former Law Society director and current Circuit Court judge, Dr Shannon was Special Rapporteur on Child Protection for the Irish Government 2006-19 and is the author independent report into historical child sex-abuse allegations in St John Ambulance 2023.
Geraldine Kelly – One Family’s Director of Parenting and Professional Development Services. Geraldine has a Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Care & Education and a Master’s degree in Child, Family and Community Studies. She is a qualified Parent Mentor, a practicing mediator specialising in parenting and family transitions.
Dr Simone McCaughren – Assistant Professor, School of Social Work and Social Policy in Trinity College Dublin. Simone has a well-established record in academia and her research encompasses adoption practice and law, contact with children post-adoption, foster care to adoption and contact with children post-separation.
Programme
Researchers’ Perspectives: Dr Simone McCaughren, Assistant Professor, School of Social Work and Social Policy in Trinity College Dublin
A practice-to-policy approach: Geraldine Kelly, One Family’s Director of Parenting
Family Justice Reform: Andrew Munro, Department of Justice
Q&A: led by Stephanie Holt, PhD, Professor in Social Work, School of Social Work & Social Policy, Trinity College Dublin
Closing: Karen Kiernan, One Family CEO
Location
Trinity Research in Social Sciences (TRiSS)
TRiSS Seminar Room
6th Floor, Sutherland Centre
Arts Building, Trinity College Dublin
About Sherie de Burgh
Our former colleague, Sherie de Burgh, was instrumental in establishing countrywide access to non-directive crisis pregnancy counselling in Ireland. When abortion was not legally available in Ireland, Sherie de Burgh pioneered ‘Open Line Counselling’ along with other committed counsellors and volunteers to negotiate the grey areas in legislation and support women in the darkest of years. At this time not only was abortion unavailable in Ireland, but information on abortion care providers in Britain was censored.
Many years later, building out of the infrastructure of pregnancy counselling put in place by Sherie and colleagues , Repeal of the 8th Amendment and legalisation of abortion in Ireland changed the landscape of services and prompts consideration of how counselling can now be best situated in the expanded model of care relating to unintended pregnancy and abortion care.
As policy evolved to place counselling centrally in crisis pregnancy support services, Sherie worked as a pregnancy counsellor and service manager in One Family and played a leadership role representing the sector to inform policy and practice developments. She joined One Family in 2004, where she was Director of Counselling Services until her retirement in 2016.
Sherie de Burgh Memorial Fund
In 2020, One Family launched a fund in memory of our friend and former colleague Sherie de Burgh, who worked with some of the most vulnerable children and families in our society. The fund focuses on two areas of Sherie’s work that she was particularly passionate about.
Perinatal therapy, a specialist therapeutic support for mothers and their babies immediately before and after birth which strengthens lifelong attachment. This may be particularly beneficial for mothers who have experienced an unplanned or crisis pregnancy, domestic violence or homelessness.
Financial support for vulnerable families who experience homelessness, live in direct provision, or are in situations of addiction and abuse.The Sherie de Burgh Fund is used to continue her work, and may be used for the purchase of school uniforms, fees for education courses or for baby equipment. It is administered by One Family and overseen by our Board of Directors.
Click below to donate to the charitable fund in memory of Sherie.
PREVIOUS EVENTS
“Family and Care Amendments and Beyond – A Critical View of 2024 Referendums”
The fifth annual Sherie de Burgh commemorative seminar jointly hosted by One Family and the School of Social Work and Social Policy, Trinity College Dublin examined the upcoming Family and Care referendums and their potential impact on unmarried families and carers in Ireland.
Panel
Chair
Dr Catherine Conlon, Associate Professor, TCD
Speakers
David Kenny, Professor in Law, TCD
Ursula Barry, Emeritus Associate Professor, UCD
Mary Kerrigan, Founder of Cherish/One Family
Karen Kiernan, CEO of One Family
2023: Fourth Annual Sherie de Burgh Commemorative Event
Reflections on the experience of one-parent families in Ireland
The fourth annual Sherie deBurgh commemorative seminar jointly hosted by One Family and School of Social Work and Social Policy, Trinity College Dublin will explore the experiences of one-parent families in Ireland and reflect on the historical significance of the foundation of Cherish/One Family in 1972. Prof Lindsey Earner-Byrne will give a keynote examining the historical challenges faced by one-parent families, in-particular single mothers, followed by a panel discussion considering the experiences of one-parent families now, and what the state and society can do to support them into the future.
Chair
Dr Catherine Conlon – Assistant Professor, Social Policy School of Social Work and Social Policy Trinity College Dublin.
Speakers
- Dr Lindsey Earner-Byrne – Professor, School of History, University College Cork
- Ivana Bacik – Leader of the Labour Party
- Laura McGarrigle, Assistant Secretary General, DCEDIY
- Karen Kiernan – CEO of One Family
2022: Third Annual Sherie De Burgh Commemorative Event
What would Sherie do? The future of pregnancy counselling in Ireland
Pregnancy Counselling and Sherie’s leadership in the practice of counselling has played a critical role in supporting people dealing with unintended and crisis pregnancies in Ireland over many decades. In the third of the series of annual seminars organised by One Family in collaboration with Trinity College Dublin’s School of Social Work and Social Policy commemorating the pioneering pregnancy counsellor, Sherie de Burgh, we explore, the role of pregnancy counselling practice in Ireland – past, present and future.
Seminar Details:
Speakers:
- Dr. Catherine Conlon, Assistant Professor, Social Policy School of Social Work and Social Policy Trinity College Dublin. Catherine will discuss the historical/social context of pregnancy counselling as it evolved in Ireland after insertion of 8th Amendment, following referenda on information in 1995 and also pose questions about the place of counselling in the new model of care implemented following 2018 Act extending legal abortion considerably in the Irish context drawing from research she was involved in on Irish women’s abortion experiences in 1994, 2005 and 2021.
- Karen Kiernan, Chief Executive Officer, One Family – Ireland’s national organisation for people parenting alone, sharing parenting and separating.
- Anne McCarthy, Lead Tutor, Crisis Pregnancy Counselling Skills and Masterclass Programme, Department of Adult and Community Education Maynooth University.
2021: Second Annual Sherie De Burgh Commemorative Event
2020: Inaugural Commemorative Event
