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
96 episodes
Advocacy talks episode 3 - Méabh Conneely discusses returning to Irish dancing with blindness and autism
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 spea...
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Episode 3
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37:13
Advocacy Talks Episode 2 - Stuart Haxell discusses the gene therapy that helped him gain back some vision
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 medi...
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23:19
Advocacy Talks Episode 1 - Stuart Lawler chats all things INBAF, advocacy, and Braille 200
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...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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31:05
How important is technology in education? Grace Gavin tells the Vision Ireland Podcast
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 a...
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Season 1
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19:30
have you wanted to play blind tennis? Stuart Haxell tells us all about it!
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 tourname...
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Season 1
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16:14
How can we enable deafblind children to thrive? Deirdre Leech tells the Vision Ireland Podcast
#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 alt...
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Season 1
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19:11
Psychologist Paraic Barnes' experience of sudden sight loss & building resilience
#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 strange...
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Season 1
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25:49
Counsellor Sheila McFarlane's insights into vision impairment
#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 acqui...
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Season 1
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17:58
How can a Vision Ireland ECLO help you or your child? Barry and Katie Ryan explain
#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 ECL...
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Season 1
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16:04
What supports do blind students need at exam times? Niamh and Sinead Kilcawley explain
#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 abou...
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Season 1
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22:50
How important are Vision Ireland stores to local communities? Geraldine Cussen explains
#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 s...
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Season 1
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24:50
How is Tier addressing vision Ireland’s concerns about e-scooters? Peader Golden tells us
#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 p...
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Season 1
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25:32
The Benefits Of Exercise With Others? John Doherty Explains
#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...
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Season 1
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23:45
What approach did teacher Gordon McFarlane use in class after he went blind?
#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 ...
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23:13
What's it like to work in Vision Ireland Retail? Brendan Laffan tells us
#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 ens...
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Season 1
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15:51
NCBI Podcast chats with mam behind Pedal for Grace, Mary O'Sullivan
#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 ...
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15:27
NCBI Podcast chats to Eugene Rooney about his Free Travel Pass win
#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 disab...
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22:01
NCBI Podcast hears from Tina Lowe on passions after becoming blind
#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...
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24:59
NCBI Podcast learns about Seen Unseen art project from Clare McLaughlin
#NCBIpodcast chats with Seen Unseen project creator Clare McLaughlin. This interactive art project is about making art and culture more accessible to people who are blind or vision impaired. Through a series of gallery or museum visits across I...
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26:56
NCBI Podcast meets 15-year-old inventor Maura Moore McCune
#NCBIPodcast chats with 15-year-old vision impaired inventor of VIPMOD, Maura Moore McCune. Her designs aim to make it easier for pedestrians with sight loss to detect moving objects to ensure they can navigate their streetscape safely. S...
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17:49
NCBI Podcast marks World Mental Health Day
#NCBIPodcast marks World Mental Health Day by chatting to service users Breandan Ward, Leonard O’Mahoney and John Pepper about their participation in the Men’s Network. They highlight the power of talking and listening as an aid to improve ment...
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25:00
NCBI Podcast hears from David Ryan about foster parenting and being a mature student
#NCBIPodcast meets David Ryan who shares the joys and challenges of becoming a foster parent and how rewarding it is to his own family on a daily basis. He talks about his experience of being a mature student and encourages everyone not to be f...
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21:09
NCBI Podcast learns about Possibility Lab and Change This Space with Chantelle Smith
#NCBIPodcast talks to Chantelle Smith of NCBI Possibility Lab about the leadership they offer in accessibility and innovative design to create a built environment that works for all but particularly those who are blind or vision impaired....
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28:39
NCBI Podcast learns all about Braille, Music Braille and more from Stuart Lawler
NCBI podcasts meets Stuart Lawler who chats passionately about the importance of Braille in advancing inclusion of people who are blind or vision impaired in education, employment and leisure activities. He highlights how technology has made Mu...
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24:31
NCBI Podcast meets Aoife Doherty on her campervan travels around Europe.
#NCBIPodcast meets Aoife Doherty, who is travelling around Europe in a campervan. She talks about the accessibility of campsites and tourist attractions against her accessibility criteria with some excelling and others failing. She encourages a...
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31:28