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News | Our 45th Anniversary Media Interviews and Open Door Day

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One Family celebrates 45 years in 2017. We were founded by a small group of strong, brave women in 1972. You can read more about our history here. This year, we will also be moving from Cherish House on Lower Pembroke Street, our home for over 40 years, to our new building in Smithfield, Dublin 7 next month. It is fully accessible and larger, so that we can further extend our services to support even more parents and children through difficult times.

Yesterday our founding member Maura O’Dea Richards and our CEO Karen Kiernan were interviewed on RTÉ Radio 1’s Ray D’Arcy Show. Maura shared her personal story, including how she had to hide her pregnancy and how she fought for the right to rear her child, in a passionate, funny and moving interview which you can listen to on this link.

It was an honour to receive the following message from President Michael D Higgins for Maura, which was sent to,and read out on, the Ray D’Arcy Show:

For many years single mothers in our society were an excluded group of people without a voice. I thank you for all you’ve done in promoting an inclusive citizenship by ensuring that lone parents and their children are treated with respect and are valued as a family within our society.

Your contribution to changing the landscape for lone parents in this county has been a significant one. I congratulate you for your dedication and commitment and I wish you every success in the future.

President Michael D Higgins

Today in the Irish Times, Sheila Wayman speaks with three women about their experiences of parenting alone across the generations, and across four decades, to ask what has or has not changed in Irish society in the time since our founding? Sharing their stories are our founding member Evelyn Forde, Sharon Keane and Lee Nagle. You can read the feature here.

Tomorrow, Wednesday 28 June, we invite people who would like to wish farewell to Cherish House to join us between 10am-4pm for our Open Door Day when an exhibition of photographs and archive materials will be on display at 2 Lower Pembroke Street, Dublin 2.

If you would like to support our Building Futures Fund and the refurbishment of our new building, you can find out more here.

 

 

In Memory | Sherie de Burgh

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It is with our deepest sorrow that we announce the death of our dear friend and colleague, Sherie de Burgh, who passed away peacefully after a long illness, on Wednesday 15 February.  Sherie joined One Family in 2004 as Director of Counselling Services, having developed the IFPA’s crisis pregnancy counselling service previously.

Sherie was a visionary who worked tirelessly to support women, couples and parents through the difficult landscape of unplanned pregnancies, relationship separation, parenting and family conflict. Her life’s work truly made a difference; a difference for so many thousands of people experiencing times of great trauma and difficulty, and in contributing to a more inclusive and progressive Irish society.

We thank Sherie for this, and for her commitment and compassion. We remember her wisdom and professionalism, as well as her deep laugh and sense of fun. No words can adequately express our sadness at her death or how much we will miss her, but we are grateful for the opportunity we had to work with her.

Our thoughts are with Sherie’s son, Dorje, and all of her family and friends. Her colleagues at One Family will honour her memory by striving to continue her extraordinary work.

 

Funeral Arrangements:

Reposing at Carnegie’s Funeral Home, Monkstown from 4-6pm this Friday. Funeral Service on Saturday morning, 18 February, at 10am in Mount Jerome Cemetery and Crematorium, Harold’s Cross.

 

 

Post updated on Saturday 15 April 2017:

An Obituary published in the Irish Times on 15 April 2017 can be read here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Irish Times commends One Family founders

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Fintan O’Toole has written a very moving tribute to the founders of One Family in today’s Irish Times – commending their bravery in refusing to be ashamed of being single mothers – and challenging the government to act with similar courage and lack of shame by refusing to accept bailing out Anglo and Nationwide

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2012/1023/1224325577694.html

Interesting Irish Times piece on one-parent families

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Interesting piece by Ann Marie Hourihane in today’s Irish Times – about how single mothers seem to have been unfairly scapegoated as being in some way ‘responsible’ for the London riots see http://bit.ly/ogcar8