Advocacy Talks with Vision Ireland
Welcome to Advocacy Talks from Vision Ireland. Hosted by Madeleine McNamara, Advocacy Talks aims to bring you conversations with interesting people about blindness, advocacy, and everything in between. Contact the advocacy team at Vision Ireland by emailing campaigns@VI.ie .
Episodes
In this episode of Advocacy Talks Madeleine speaks with Tytti Matsinen, president of the European Blind Union.
They discuss what the EBU is and what issues it’s currently advocating on.
Want to get in touch with the advocacy team? Send an email now to campaigns@vi.ie
This week is European Mental Health Week, 2025. so Madeleine caught up with our Head of Counselling, Wellbeing & Emotional Support Peter O’Toole to discuss “Mental Health as a Social Right” From a discussion on loneliness to the services provided by the counselling team at Vision Ireland, there really is a lot to talk about.
Want to get in touch with the advocacy team? Send an email now to campaigns@vi.ie
Ahead of participating in this year‘s Riverdance summer school and performing at the evening reception of MayFest 2025, Méabh Conneely discusses her return to Irish dancing after losing her sight almost five years ago.
She speaks openly about the challenges she’s faced, and tells us about the people that helped make it possible for her.
Want to get in touch with the advocacy team? Send an email now to campaigns@vi.ie
In this episode of Advocacy Talks, Stuart Haxell tells us about what it was like to gain back some vision following a new innovative gene therapy.
He also tells us about what it was like to have so much media attention on his story.
Want to get in touch with the advocacy team? Send an email now to campaigns@vi.ie.
In this episode of Advocacy Talks Madeleine chats with Stuart Lawler about INBAF, the Irish National Braille and Alternative Formats Authority.
They discuss the importance of advocating for yourself, and the significant benefits of Braille for blind people.
Want to join a Local Advocacy Network? Send an email to campaigns@vi.ie now.
June chats with 4th year student Grace Gavin who confidently talks about how technology has helped her so much in her education. She talks passionately about the benefits of Transition Year and how it exposed her to new subjects as well as different trips she participated in. She encourages any other students with a vision impaired to actively speak up in the class if they have any difficulty.
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June chats with Stuart Haxell from Sligo, an avid blind tennis player who describes how he got involved in the sport and how it is adapted to ensure anyone who is blind or vision impaired can play. He chats passionately about the tournaments he’s participated in. He talks about the value participating in sport has on building new friendships and being good for overall wellbeing and physical fitness.
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#NCBIPodcast chats with Deirdre Leech who works with the Anne Sullivan Foundation delivering outreach services to people who are deafblind. She outlines the diverse services and supports on offer. She highlights the importance of developing alternative strategies for children who are deafblind to enable them to thrive, the use of tactile sign language and encourages all who are deafblind to be explicit in how they want to be commun...
#NCBIPodcast meets Paraic Barnes, a psychologist who now has a positive outlook on life despite losing his sight very suddenly. He shares the importance of family, friends and NCBI tech club to help him adjust and is always heartened by strangers looking out for him. As with everything in life, he highlights that it is not always plain sailing but it is important to build resilience to help overcome challenges as they arise.
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#NCBIPodcast meets Sheila McFarlane from Donegal who is vision impaired. A counsellor by profession, she gives her insights into the different challenges and similarities faced by those who are vision impaired from birth against those who acquire sight loss later in life. As a keen shopper, she shares her best shopping experiences.
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#NCBIPodcast chats with Barry and Katie Ryan, parents to Maggie and Rosie who have Chromatopsia. They share how the ECLO (Eye Clinic Liaison Officer) services helped them understand, process and accept their daughters’ condition and how the ECLO is always a helpful resource to them at every step of their children’s development guaranteeing that their girls can thrive like everyone else.
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#NCBIPodcast chats with Sinead Kilcawley and her daughter Niamh who outline the lack of appropriate supports for blind pupils in doing state exams. Despite having the required assistive technology and the support of the school, Niamh talks about the inflexibility of the education system to respond to individual needs and how a 10 minute extra per hour and exam papers not being adapted puts her at a disadvantage.
If you li...
#NCBIPodcast chats with Geraldine Cussen who is shop manager in NCBI Navan shop and is vision impaired. She reveals her joy of working with volunteers and customers and the sense of community it brings. She outlines the strategies she uses to support customers who are vision impaired and the importance of sharing that knowledge for everyone’s benefit.
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#NCBIPodcast chats with Peadar Golden from Tier who talks about all things e-scooters. He supports many of NCBI’s concerns regarding use of e-scooters and outlines how Tier is addressing these in their shared schemes.
If you liked this podcast, please subscribe to the NCBI YouTube channel and like, comment on, or share your favourite video!
On the topic of transport, NCBI previously spoke to Eugene Rooney on his F...
#NCBIPodcast chats to John Doherty is an active sportsman and is doing a Masters in Disability Studies. He shares his passion for Park Run and the health and social benefits it brings. He highlights employers perceptions as being a real barrier to getting employment and he encourages everyone to seize opportunities and work to their own personal strengths.
If you liked this podcast, please subscribe to the NCBI YouTube ch...
#NCBIPodcast chats with Gordon McFarlane, a retired teacher living in Donegal. He shares the different strategies used in his classroom once he went blind and how it lead to the best teaching experiences of his career. Presently, he is a radio presenter on Uplift FM. He advises anyone with a sight loss condition to face it so they can lead their life to the fullest.
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#NCBIPodcast meets Brendan Laffan from Limerick who talks passionately about working in the NCBI Newcastlewest shop as well as previously being a local radio presenter and editor. He shares how his sighted colleagues initially helped him to ensure he can undertake all his duties. He enjoys the teamwork and camaraderie and loves being part of the community.
If you liked this video, please subscribe to the NCBI YouTube chann...
#NCBIPodcast meets Mary O’Sullivan from Kerry, mum to Grace (aged 12) who has Stargardt disease which largely affects her central vision. She highlights how Grace uses her Assistive Technology to thrive in school and recalls the huge community support received during their Pedal for Grace fundraising event that raised over €20k for NCBI.
If you liked this podcast, please subscribe on your favourite podcast platform and su...
#NCBIPodcast meets Eugene Rooney from Dundalk who shares how he got Irish Rail to change and modernise their procedures for Free Travel Pass holders wishing to travel to Northern Ireland. This simplified process will benefit anyone with a disability and has spurred him on to progress other issues that need to be improved for people who are #Blind or #VisionImpaired.
#NCBIPodcast talks with Tina Lowe who recalls the frustrations, anger and laughter after becoming blind suddenly. It ignited a passion in her of making sure society is accessible to everyone which inspires her daily in her role as Accessibility Officer in UCD and has led to changes in the campus that enables all students with disabilities to enjoy all aspects of student life.
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