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Voices
I found out I was having a miscarriage this week. My husband wasn't allowed into the hospital.
In spite of all the calls for hospitals to ease their Covid measures it was impossible to get a clear answer on whether my partner would be allowed in, our contributor writes.
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May 7th 2021, 4:58 PM
Voices
'I hung up for the last time': How I lost my partner to conspiracy theories
Our reader documents her relationship with a partner who became an advocate of online conspiracy theories.
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Apr 18th 2021, 12:05 AM
Voices
Opinion: Women have lived in fear of walking alone in the dark for too long - we've had enough
Our reader shares two terrifying experiences walking home in Dublin and London and asks if we are doing enough to free women from this fear.
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Mar 11th 2021, 9:46 AM
Voices
Opinion: 'I tried to take my own life more than once and felt the compassion of staff begin to fade'
On World Suicide Prevention Day our reader details her struggles and experience of the Irish mental health services.
37.2k
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Sep 10th 2020, 7:00 AM
Voices
The long wait for autism assessment: 'From cautiously optimistic to desperately worried'
‘Starting primary school was always going to be difficult but now I am concerned that it will be deeply traumatic and damaging.’
20.8k
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Aug 25th 2020, 7:30 PM
Voices
My food addiction: How group therapy helped me overcome years of bingeing and purging
The following account is written by a member of Addictive Eaters Anonymous, who shares her experience of sobriety from addictive eating.
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Jul 18th 2020, 6:00 PM
Voices
'The scariest part was there was no remorse': One survivor on her experience of domestic abuse
Our reader has survived an abusive relationship and has advice for anyone else trapped in one.
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May 14th 2020, 7:25 AM
Voices
Opinion: Examined in the toilet, protesting in a chair for a bed - my battle for comfort in hospital
Jess was given a makeshift bed behind a doorway when battling infection following a mastectomy.
51.9k
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Jan 29th 2020, 7:00 AM
Voices
'I’m tired of all the feel-good campaigns when there's no real debate around entry into mental health services'
A sibling writes about their brother’s experience of being suicidal and needing access to treatment.
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May 26th 2018, 7:30 PM
Voices
'I'm not amoral, not stupid, and not promiscuous. I took every precaution. I still got pregnant'
“Am I selfish for taking control of my own fate rather than simply letting life happen to me? I do not see it that way.”
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May 18th 2018, 7:00 AM
Voices
'I was nine weeks pregnant when I took an abortion pill - after staring at it for hours'
“I was in a very bad situation where continuing a pregnancy just wasn’t possible, health wise or financially.”
182k
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May 10th 2018, 7:00 AM
Voices
'The nurses asked how we planned to keep him cold. This wasn't something we were prepared for'
Things need to change in Ireland though; I don’t want any other people to have to go through what we did.
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May 4th 2018, 7:00 AM
Voices
Candid recordings of female doctor from field hospital in East Ghouta
“As I’m talking, there are rockets falling on Ghouta.”
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Mar 3rd 2018, 9:15 AM
Voices
'We've fostered 15 children, in the beginning I thought we were going to save the world'
“The most rewarding thing about fostering is seeing the potential in children that was sometimes overlooked when they were younger.”
35.7k
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Feb 25th 2018, 8:00 PM
Voices
Broadband in rural Ireland: 'If I disconnect, I don't get paid - I fear for my job'
“I feel like the people of rural Ireland have been let down, with broken promise after broken promise.”
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Feb 6th 2018, 7:00 AM
Voices
Sexual abuse: 'Did I consent? I was just a little girl, but yes, I let it happen'
This is the story of a woman who did speak up about her abuse. But she wasn’t believed.
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Nov 26th 2017, 7:30 PM
Voices
#MeToo: 'I have been drugged twice by men I knew'
#MeToo was spawned by the Harvey Weinstein revelations and is where women are detailing incidences of sexual assault and harassment online.
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Oct 22nd 2017, 7:30 PM
Voices
'My doctor insisted I leave the job, and signed me off on stress leave'
We’re not entitled to be unhappy with how we are being treated in the workplace. You are seen as a malcontent, someone who doesn’t respect authority, or that you didn’t want to do the hard work.
178k
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Oct 7th 2017, 8:30 PM
Voices
'I am not ashamed of losing my home. But people's judgemental attitudes make it harder'
Believe me, no one deliberately sets out to rip apart the foundations of their home by simply not making mortgage repayments.
8.9k
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Jul 9th 2017, 7:30 PM
# sponsored by vhi
'We were even questioning the future of our marriage': One couple share their fertility story
A sense of isolation can be one effect of infertility – so seeking support is essential.
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May 29th 2017, 5:17 PM
Voices
My abortion: 'I don't want to be eternally attached to someone I do not love'
I feel like a woman and for the first time I feel like a responsible adult who made a very painful decision for all the right reasons.
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May 27th 2017, 7:30 PM
Voices
My boyfriend's gambling: 'I loved two people. One was a compulsive liar and emotionally unavailable'
My whole life used to be consumed by my ex boyfriend’s gambling addiction.
22.3k
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Mar 18th 2017, 7:30 PM
Voices
An Irish nurse: 'I began to hate my job. I questioned my career. There were days when I came home crying'
A former public sector nurse highlights the challenging working conditions she and her colleagues endured as they cared for patients.
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Jan 10th 2017, 6:45 AM
Voices
'One of the most horrible experiences of my life': An Irish woman on travelling for an abortion
One reader tells us her story about having to travel to the UK for an abortion after her baby was diagnosed with a debilitating illness.
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Dec 22nd 2016, 6:00 PM
Voices
'He confirmed what I had known for hours - there was no heartbeat'
One reader tells us her story about having a miscarriage, to encourage others to talk about an issue which ends one in four pregnancies.
704
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Dec 22nd 2016, 6:00 PM
Voices
'My Jobseeker's Allowance was cut to €40 a week - I can’t afford to go to interviews'
I don’t want a free ride. I want the Department of Social Protection to assist me.
14.5k
142
Nov 27th 2016, 8:30 PM
Voices
'I walked past people with signs about how I was a murderer': Getting an abortion as a teenager
One reader tells us her story about having to travel to the UK for an abortion after an unplanned pregnancy at 19.
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Sep 4th 2016, 8:30 PM
Voices
There is no easy way to escape poverty as a single parent
A reader explains why education alone is not enough to gain financial security.
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Jul 18th 2016, 8:00 AM
Voices
'As a child of an alcoholic, I am damaged'
A reader talks about their experiences in the wake of the establishment of a government Group on Alcohol Harm
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Jul 10th 2016, 8:45 PM
Voices
Supporting my mam through depression: 'We never give up trying to make her feel loved'
An anonymous contributor writes about the complexities of helping a person who suffers from mental illness.
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May 2nd 2016, 8:00 PM
Voices
Leaving an abusive relationship: He knocked me into a wall when I dared to speak back
A year after leaving her violent partner, one woman is still learning how to cope.
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Apr 10th 2016, 8:30 PM
Voices
'I fed myself through looking or smelling, but never eating. I'm not over anorexia; I'm living with it'
When I finally got it, I still didn’t think I deserved help. I checked into hospital still believing I was “too fat”, writes an anonymous contributor.
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Feb 21st 2016, 6:30 PM
Voices
Call me a selfish criminal and a murderer if you want, but having an abortion was right for me
I made a decision to abort at seven weeks for many reasons, writes an anonymous contributor.
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Feb 17th 2016, 5:00 PM
Voices
'My partner was lovely at first, but things changed after we moved in together'
At the beginning he was nice, making sure I got home safely and on time for curfew, but things changed, writes an anonymous contributor.
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Feb 10th 2016, 9:45 PM
Voices
I chose to put my four children through private secondary school, here's why
There may be an air of ambition that one hopes will be contagious. If the friends all have high hopes, ours probably will too.
15.4k
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Dec 8th 2015, 8:00 AM
Voices
I love a drink but I don't want to end up like my dad: an alcoholic and alone
“Having struggled to deal with my father’s alcoholism my entire life, I wonder just how his ‘fondness for the drink’ has distorted my perception of alcohol.”
2.3k
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Dec 6th 2015, 8:25 PM
Voices
No opportunities for non-EU students: I fell in love with Ireland but will soon have to leave
The flooded market for HSE placements has become unsustainable, an American medical student studying here writes.
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Nov 30th 2015, 8:00 AM
Voices
'I'll never forget the looks he gave me. I knew he wanted me dead'
A woman living in a women’s refuge in Tallaght tells her story and appeals to the government to prevent its closure.
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Nov 11th 2015, 3:00 PM
Voices
'If I don’t have papers I won’t be able to study after the Leaving Cert'
An undocumented teenager says she doesn’t want handouts, just the chance to reach her full potential.
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Nov 3rd 2015, 5:20 PM
Voices
I spent five long years studying to be a vet and I'm up against JobBridge ads paying €50 a week
Veterinary Ireland has said it has written to the Department of Social Protection to express their concerns about JobBridge vet positions. Here, one graduate tells her story.
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Oct 27th 2015, 12:00 PM
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