April 2024 BC

Every day we engage in different systems, educational, welfare, health… but what happens when you see something in a system that you would like to change? Well, that’s what we talked about at our April Breakfast Club with some amazing speakers.  

Ailbhe Smyth is a campaigner and former academic, with long-standing strategic, political and organisational experience. She was a Co-Director of the Together for Yes referendum campaign. Co-founder and Convenor of Coalition to Repeal the 8th Amendment. Strategic Advisor for Marriage Equality referendum 2015 and has a wide involvement in NGO and Community sectors.
She is currently Chair of Women’s Aid and sits on a number of other Irish nonprofits. She was a UCD senior academic for 40 years and founding Head of Women’s Studies (WERRC) at UCD, with extensive research and lecturing experience.   

Colette Bennett is the Director of Advocacy and research for The Wheel. She joined the Wheel in 2023 after 14 years working at a senior level in justice advocacy and organisational development. She has a master’s in social justice and public policy and is a qualified solicitor with a professional certificate from the Law Society of Ireland. She is a member of the Royal Irish Academy Social Sciences Committee. She has provided guest lectures for several universities. 

We loved the conversation particularly: 

• Trust your gut. It can be hard to know what’s right but if it feels wrong it probably is wrong 

• There are times for agitating and there are times for charming, the skill is learning when to know the difference 

• When you hit a setback focus on the why not the what, why you are doing the work