It is my great pleasure to write this piece, the first of two, introducing our new bloggers.
Over the years MS and Me has grown and we now have 20 regular writers, plus guest bloggers who share their experiences of living with MS. We hope that with so many contributors, we can reach more and more readers who can identify with our experiences, hopes, fears and ideas.
This week, we hope that you’ll welcome our new contributors and say hello to Dearbhla, Emma and Lauren…
Dearbhla
Dearbhla is a freelance writer and teacher. She previously worked as a journalist and as a communications advisor for various rights-based organisations across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Dearbhla is interested in women’s rights, politics, the environment, and art. She loves languages and travelling, which has resulted in a wholly unnecessary collection of random paraphernalia. Dearbhla moved back to Ireland after an MS diagnosis in 2019 but by the time she felt up to ‘re-entering’ society, the world was in the throes of a contagion. So, now her hobbies include walking, baking badly and learning guitar on zoom.
Emma
Emma from Cork was diagnosed with MS in September 2011 so coming up on ten years with MS. She lives with her husband Matt and their 6 year old daughter Rowan. She works as a “rúnaí scoile” (school secretary) at the Gaelscoil her daughter attends and so she is currently re-learning all the Irish she knew at school and forgot. In her spare time, Emma enjoys watching the films she loved as a kid with her daughter. She also enjoys walking to clear her head and get some fresh air.
Lauren
Lauren was diagnosed with MS at 18 years old. Since then, she has become a passionate MS advocate and with a particular interest for raising awareness of difficulties faced by those with invisible disabilities. In recent years, Lauren has worked with MS Ireland on a number of their awareness campaigns and research projects. After a bumpy start to university, Lauren graduated from DCU in 2019 with a first-class honours BSc in Health and Society. At present, Lauren is working as a postgraduate researcher and is continuing her advocacy work with MS Ireland and the AHEAD/USI Students with Disabilities Advisory Group.
We are looking forward to reading and sharing new voices and stories over the next few months.
In the meantime, if you haven’t read MS and Me before, why not have a browse through our previous posts. You never know what you might learn!
You can find the back catalogue of MS and Me here and our new posts shared on MS Ireland’s social media every week.
Take care and stay safe,
Niamh
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