Watching grown men eat ice-cream Brigid O’Dea: I delight in listening to serious-minded men double-check the server has noted their order for raspberry sauceWed Jul 13 2022 - 07:01
The calm, organised lives of list makers sound lovely, but I cannot keep a listThey make me feel claustrophobic. I like to think that each moment has potentialWed Jun 08 2022 - 06:01
Basic income scheme the latest knock for disabled artistsDisabled artists are not receiving same financial support as their able-bodied peersFri May 13 2022 - 06:01
My Covid brain fog is debilitating, like walking through a field of glueThe first attempt at this column began: ‘I want to walk like Róisín Ingle.’ It ended thereThu Apr 07 2022 - 06:01
Brigid O’Dea: Find where your energy lies and follow thatReading a George Saunders’ book on holidays helps me rediscover my energyThu Feb 24 2022 - 06:01
Brigid O’Dea: Children’s literature connects us to our base emotionsInvisible disability: The interaction that lifted me out of my indulgent gloomWed Dec 01 2021 - 06:01
Brigid O’Dea: The patterns changed and I twisted and turned only in painWe all have different patterns that will allow us to thrive in this worldMon Nov 01 2021 - 06:01
Moving to the island is not really a case of fitting in. You are what shape you areA different island experience but maybe I haven’t done enough researchWed Sept 15 2021 - 06:01
The bird looked pained – my friend carried a similar expressionThe bird had his rest, my friend had her chocolate, I had my sleep, all was okayFri Aug 27 2021 - 06:01
Brigid O’Dea: ‘These days, to live really is so startling’After 17 months of gestation, we are leaving the wombs of our homes and learning once more the ways of this worldThu Jul 15 2021 - 06:01
Brigid O’Dea: I hate technology, but when I fix Dad’s problems I feel like a geniusAssisting my father with his technical queries is a veritable ego boostThu May 13 2021 - 06:01
Adult or child, there’s a lot to be said for a Very Big Imagination‘I’ve been learning a lot from listening to the children in my courtyard below’Sat Apr 24 2021 - 06:00
Brigid O’Dea: ‘I keep laughing, but then the printer jams’Often it’s not the big things that upset us but the small one like Bukowski’s shoelaceFri Apr 09 2021 - 06:01
Sensory play moves online to help children get through the pandemicMultisensory learning specialists are translating their work to the digital domainFri Apr 02 2021 - 06:01
Arrival of baby nephew Sonny puts a spring in my stepIntrospection hard to avoid during this pandemic but our world much bigger with him in itWed Mar 17 2021 - 06:01
No doctor, no pharmacy, no supermarket: I’m moving to an islandI will be living in a draughty cottage on Cape Clear with books and a lot of thinking for companyThu Oct 22 2020 - 06:01
As lockdown begins to lift, once again I feel like a trapped birdChronic illness sufferer tells of how during lockdown she finally felt she was not missing outTue Jul 07 2020 - 06:01
‘We can find great comfort in caring for someone or something else’To nurture is to be nurtured even if it is more difficult to do so in these timesWed May 27 2020 - 06:01
Coronavirus has our head wrecked, so here are some jolly talesWhat often strikes me in the face of illness, is how the kindness of strangers prevailsFri Apr 10 2020 - 06:01
It can be frustrating to watch others who pass through the world easilyLiving with chronic migraine has amplified the need to nurture the right conditionsTue Jan 14 2020 - 06:01
‘It’s rarely a good day if I’m wearing my dressing gown’Even with a mostly invisible disability there are some signs that it’s not a good dayTue Nov 05 2019 - 06:01
Invisible disabilities and treatments: Navigating false startsWhen it comes to the treatment of my ill health, I often place unrealistic faith in professionals in the hope that someday, someone will cure meWed Sept 11 2019 - 06:01
‘I have turned to the healing power of art from my sickbed’Government investment in the arts should be viewed as more than just ‘nice to have’Mon Feb 11 2019 - 07:01
An ode to my belly: that little bit of squish is not the mother of all evilsThe pot belly, like the smug smile, exaggerates an all-too-rare ease with oneself and illustrates an individual who takes pleasure in lifeTue Feb 06 2018 - 08:01
‘The memories I hold of my mother are not vast’My memories are of comfort, loving eyes, a warm squishy body but also illness and hospitalsTue Nov 08 2016 - 06:00
‘I debate urinating in bed to avoid the pain of lifting my head’Living with chronic migraine: ‘I wish my pain was visible and I wish it on my best friend’Tue Jun 28 2016 - 06:00
