Irish Support Agency

The Irish 30 line up

Monday 1st February: Financial Wellbeing Series, Part 1: Budgeting, saving and buying a home with Ciaran Davis

These online webinars will be led by finance professionals who have volunteered their time and expertise, to look at our financial wellbeing through the lens of the lifecycle. Over the course of the series we will look at superannuation, mortgages, savings accounts, taxation, investments and much more.

Our first session is being led by Ciaran Davis who has over 20 years in the finance industry.

Audience participation is strongly encouraged as Ciaran wants to address as many of your questions as possible, please join us through zoom.

Monday 7th December: Christmas Special: Preparing for a different Christmas this year with Lochlann from Helplink Mental Health

While many of us look forward to Christmas as a time of cheer and celebrations, for some the festive period can be challenging and can escalate feelings of loneliness and isolation. 2020 has heightened these challenges with international border closures preventing the usual trips home or visitors from Ireland.

That is why the ISA, in collaboration with other Irish community groups, have been working hard to pull together a huge line up of events to bring us together over the festive period. Baile as Baile (home away from home) kicks off at the end of November and features lots of in person and online events, including our final Irish 30 webinar of the year.

For this session we will be joined by Lochlann Scott, founder and CEO of Helplink Mental Health and member of the Board of Trustees for Mental Health Reform Ireland. Helplink is an Irish based charity that provides mental health services for children, young people and adults, locally in the West of Ireland, nationally and internationally. The organisation established the world’s first global online counselling service to the Irish abroad and the returning Irish for free in 2016 - a vital service, providing culturally sensitive support to those far away from home.

In this session we will be acknowledging the challenges this Christmas will being for many, and provide some practical tips on how to look after your wellbeing over the festive period.

Monday 2nd November: Coping with Grief & Loss: The Irish Perspective with Órlaith Sheill and Aoife Butler.

On November 2nd, traditionally known as All Souls Day, we had a special session on grief and loss which was incredibly insightful, honest and comforting.

Órlaith Sheill provided insights into the grief process, non-death losses including those we experienced in 2020, the role of culture in grief and the impact of COVID-19 on the Irish grieving traditions.

Mental Health Nurse Aoife Butler then bravely shared her experiences of losing her brother Matthew while he was in Australia. She share how she is learning to live her life while living with grief, how grief is not a linear process and how she found comfort in sharing her story to help others going through similar experiences.

Together they share how others can be a support to someone going through loss and resources that can help.

You can watch the session on youtube.

If you want to hear more excellent advice from Órlaith listen to her conversation with Clinical Psychologist Dr. Malie Coyne here.

Additional Resources:

• Griefline 1300 845 745

• Lifeline: 13 11 14

• Helplink.ie

Monday 5th October: Self Care with Kevin Clancy and Ronan MacDomhnaill

October’s session of the Irish 30 will explore the importance of self care.

Kevin and Ronan will discuss what selfcare really means, why it’s so important and how each of us can find our own way to better take care of ourselves. Selfcare is about choosing the right time and activity to put ourselves first. We can’t pour from an empty cup after all!

Kevin will answer all your questions based on his extensive experience and knowledge background in psychology.

Tuesday 8th September: The Science of Sleep with Kellie Hamill

In September we will be joined by Kellie Hamill who graduated with Honours from the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland after studying Human Nutrition. In 2013 she moved to Melbourne after travelling for a year. Early 2015, she started working in Nutrition research at the Be Active Sleep and Eat Facility, Monash University. It was then her interest in Sleep began, firstly managing the laboratory the working on a large insomnia Clinical trial. Since then she has become very interested in sleep and the impact on mental health. Outside of work Kellie enjoys travelling, reading, cycling and the beach.

You can access the webinar via zoom on Tuesday 8th September at 7 pm

Monday 3rd August: Living in Australia during a pandemic with Caroline McKenna

For the next Irish 30 webinar we will be joined with County Down native Caroline McKenna; teacher, mental health advocate and podcast host. Caroline will share her experiences of living in Australia during the pandemic, supporting her students through mental health challenges, maintaining her own wellbeing and the inspiration for her popular podcast, A “County Down” Under.

You can access the webinar via zoom on Monday 3rd August at 7pm

Monday 6th July: Your Job Search with John Corrigan

John started his career in marketing when he joined one of Ireland’s leading direct marketing agencies. John then emigrated to Australia in 2011 and made a career move into marketing recruitment. John brings a wealth of experience to date having worked with Globally listed and national recruitment agencies. He is currently the Director of Sharp&Carter Marketing Recruitment a national recruitment agency. His session will look at how best to position yourself in the current uncertain climate and give practical steps on how best to approach your job search. He lives in Sydney with his wife Rachel and 2 young daughters, a cat and a dog!

Monday 15th June: Social connection for wellbeing

Staying connected during physical distancing can be challenging but not impossible. In this webinar we will explore the impact that social connections have on our wellbeing, the importance of different types of connections and ways to remain connected during COVID-19. We will also outline the role that ISA plays in connecting our Irish community in NSW

Monday 1st June: Healthy Habits with Roisin Trainor

Roisin, who you may know as the ISA’s secretary, has tertiary qualifications in nutrition and health promotion. In her role as Health Promotion Coordinator at University of NSW she uses evidence based frameworks to promote student health and wellbeing, with a specific focus on mental health. Roisin previously worked as the Coordinator at the ISA, and has a deep understanding of the issues facing the Irish Community in Australia.

Monday 25th May: Mental Resilience with Ronan MacDomhnaill

 Ronan brings over 20 years of experience and expertise from the sports, technology, education, engineering, communications and National Governing Body fields. Originally from a technology background, he became a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the Neuroleadership Institute in 2015. Ronan is the founder of Cred., who work at the intersection of technology and education. Cred. specialises in helping individuals and organisations create behaviour change for good. Their work focuses in the areas of mental health and social impact. Originally from Dublin, Ronan moved to Sydney in 1999, where he lives with his wife, Niamh and their three young children, Alannah, Daire and Oscar.

Monday 18th May: Mindfulness with Kevin Clancy

Kevin’s background is in performance and sport psychology, and he has extensive experience of working in corporate, elite sport, clinical, community and voluntary environments in a varied career to date. Originally from Cork, Kevin is the Head of Service Delivery at The Wellbeing Outfit, who specialise in helping organisations to support the mental health, wellbeing and cognitive performance of their people. Kevin has worked in Ireland, the UK, Kenya, USA, New Zealand, the Middle East and Australia. He and his wife, Vicki, have lived in Sydney since 2013.