Carer Speaker Series

Welcome to our Carer Speaker Series where carers meet and hear stories directly from each other for support, learning and connection.

Taking place once a month, we will have a chosen topic and spotlight a carer to share their story while others are invited to listen and discuss.

September - Robbie's Story: My life with Henry - Wednesday 16th September, 10am

Join us as family carer Robbie shares his story of caring for his 10 year old son, Henry, who has Down Syndrome and complex medical needs.

Robbie will speak openly about navigating separation and divorce, long hospital stays, giving up work to become a full-time carer and the ongoing challenges of accessing carers and night nursing supports.

An honest conversation about resilience, advocacy, love and the realities of caring.

June (National Carer's Week:

1. Mark's Story: Supporting my Son's Transition to Adult Services - Monday 8th June, 7.30pm

As carer to his son with complex needs, Mark wasn't expecing to be introduced to adult services in the way that he was. He has since navigated the different disability and medical systems including day services and residential care and wants to share his story, in the hope that it might make it easier for someone else.

1. Jackie's Story: Unschooling My Child - Thursday 11th June, 10am

Navigating school avoidance, Jackie spent many years attending meetings in her son’s school, battling to get the supports that he needed. When her son was 11 years old, she decided to take him out of school and began a process of ‘unschooling’. And everything changed.

April - Mandy’s Story: Navigating Neurodivergence and co-occurring conditions

Come and hear Mandy’s Story. Mandy and her husband Paul are carers and homeschooling parents to two children (11 and 12). Mandy will share her experience supporting her neurodivergent children with additional, invisible, diagnoses including ADHD, Dyscalculia, Dyslexia, PDA, Anxiety, Situational Mutism, POTS, and hEDS. Mandy will chat about her experience of caring and advocating for children with complex and often unseen medical and additional support needs.

FEBRUARY - Shauna's Story - My Sibling Experience

Since she was young, Shauna has helped her parents to care or her younger brother Daniel, who has a rare genetic disorder. Now an adult, studying and working, Shauna joins us to talk about her experience of being a young carers; the changing challenges over the years and the special bond she has with her brother.

JANUARY - Angelina's Story - A Renewed Way of Living

Fourteen years ago, Angelina was plunged into the caring role when her daughter Zoe was born with a rare genetic syndrome. Completely shellshocked she had no idea how to navigate the special needs journey and fear, anger and worry became her constant companions. In 2018, reaching the point of burnout, she came across "the simple secret of how life works from the inside out, transforming my experience of stress and overwhelm to a life of ease, fun and laughter". Angelina is passionate about creating space to share these ideas with others.

Thank you to those involved for sharing their stories in 2025. Story suggestions are welcome and if anyone wishes to contribute a story, please contact Norah directly at nduffy@familycarers.ie.

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All attendees to our events/courses/workshops may be contacted by a member of Family Carers Ireland team as we require information, to be held in confidence, for statistical purposes. By attending this session you consent to Family Carers Ireland entering your name, county, and email address onto our attendance records on CRM for the following purposes:

1) Statistical/ analytical and research purposes.

2) To enable Family Carers Ireland to quantify services for funding to the Department of Health, Children and Health Board