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Colette Byrne

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In 2018 Colette was presented with the Everyday Hero, People of the Year Award for founding the online community - widow.ie - following the tragic death of her husband, Peter. His life was tragically cut short when he was killed in a traffic accident in August 2008, leaving behind a three-year-old daughter, Kate (now 17). Qualified as a Pharmaceutical Technician, she now works in the accounts department of her families quarry business.
Christmas when you're bereaved

Coping with Christmas When You Are Bereaved

Christmas is a difficult time of year for those who are recently bereaved. Even people bereaved a number of years Christmas and the New Year can be a very sad time of year with memories of those who are missing.
IBCB

Banks to improve treatment of bereaved customers

The five main Irish Banks have committed to improving the treatment of bereaved customers by establishing a common commitment of care.
Bereaved Leaving Cert Students New Pilot Scheme

Bereaved Leaving Cert Students Can Sit Exams in July

New provisions allowing Leaving Certificate students who suffer a close family bereavement during the state examinations in June to sit alternative papers in July.
Ricky Gervais After Life

Ricky Gervais – After Life | Netflix

Ricky Gervais's latest offering, After Life on Netflix, is classed as a dark comedy. Normally, I try to avoid shows where the primary focus is a widowed spouse. Mainly because some of these shows are just badly written, they portray the bereaved as being sad for five minutes then back to taking on the world as if no life changing event occurred.
Irish Pharmacy Rule Risks Job of Widow

Irish Pharmacy Rule Risks Putting Widow Out of Job

The Irish Pharmacy Regulator approved restrictive new rules on Thursday which put jobs at risk and the possibility of rural pharmacy closures. These new rules will mean registered Pharmaceutical Assistants, like Marie and Sarah, will no longer be legally allowed to provide professional temporary cover for a pharmacist. Marie spoke of how, “I still have a mortgage so am worried about keeping my family home as I am a widow with a disabled adult living with me”. Sarah added, “I will be out of a job. I am only 60 and state pension only available at 67…I have two children in college…it will be a financial disaster…I need my work and my money”.
Ombudsman Peter Tyndall Household Benefits Package

Widow gets Household Benefits Package Backdated

Household Benefits Package Backdated for Widow Ombudsman Peter Tyndall agreed with widow that her Household Benefits Package should be backdated. His annual report for 2017 was published today after he received over 3,000 complaints about providers of public services last year. Background To The Complaint A woman complained about the Department of Social Protection’s refusal to backdate her payment under the Household Benefits package. The woman applied for the package almost a year after her husband’s death. The package was awarded from the date of her application. The woman believed that the package should have been backdated to the time that she was awarded a Widow’s Contributory pension a year earlier.
International Widows Day

International Widows’ Day 23 June 2018

International Widows Day is an opportunity for action towards achieving full rights and recognition for widows around the world. The lack of reliable hard data remains one of the major obstacles to developing the policies and programmes to address the poverty, violence and discrimination suffered by widows in many parts of the world. There is a need for more research and statistics disaggregated by marital status, sex and age, in order to help reveal the incidence of widow abuse and illustrate the situation of widows. According to the UN, "Governments should take action to uphold their commitments to ensure the rights of widows as enshrined in international law, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Even when national laws exist to protect the rights of widows, weaknesses in the judicial systems of many States compromise how widows’ rights are defended in practice and should be addressed. Lack of awareness and discrimination by judicial officials can cause widows to avoid turning to the justice system to seek reparations."
Fathers Day

Ideas to Help Bereaved Children Cope on Father’s Day

Father's Day is nearly here and it can be a very difficult time for children bereaved of their Dad. In Ireland 38,806* Mothers who are widowed, parent young children alone and it can be a struggle to know how to mark this special day. But first, lets acknowledge the 11,690* widowed Dad's of young children in Ireland who are doing a wonderful job. Regardless of your children's age parenting alone is very difficult, take a bow Dad's your doing better than you realise. You too Mum’s! We’ve gathered together Fathers’s Day ideas shared over the years from our community of young widowed parents. Remember to speak with your children in the days before and ask what they would like to do. Some children would like to make cards but others won't want to. Hopefully, some of our ideas will be of help.
AdVIC

Group Bereavement Counselling AdVIC June 2018 Dublin & Limerick

AdVIC is an Irish charity that advocates for victims of homicide while also providing support for families. Since 2009, Homicide Bereavement Support Groups have taken place alternatively in Dublin, Cork or Limerick. If you are struggling to cope with the loss of a loved one due to homicide or fatal assault, AdVIC have announced their June bereavement counselling group. Bereavement group counselling aims to provide emotional support and a safe space for individuals/families to meet other people who have experienced similar experiences and loss of a loved one by homicide or fatal assault. The 10 week support groups will be facilitated by a qualified counsellor who will guide and support you in this process.
Children’s Grief Centre

Limerick’s Olive Foley Appointed Ambassador to Children’s Grief Centre

THE widow of Irish and Munster rugby legend, Anthony "Axel" Foley, is the newly appointed ambassador to the Children’s Grief Centre in Limerick. Olive Foley recently spoke of her grief experience following the death of her 42 year old husband, in October, 2016. Shortly after Anthony's death the principal of her sons' school provided her with Sr. Helen's phone number, founder of the Children's Grief Centre. Speaking about the support provided to her young boys, Olive said "Over the last year and half she [Sr. Helen] has supported the kids and really seen them through a very difficult time so I have really seen first hand the work she has done. It is quite extraordinary to be able to give children a beautiful place where they can go to, and express themselves through talking, express emotions through art and all these different lovely mediums. She and her staff do incredible work.