In this episode of Stories from Foster Care, Niamh is speaking with Elizabeth Ward and Bridget Power, Traveller women who are family access workers at Exchange House Ireland National Travellers Service in Dublin.

In a wide-ranging and illuminating conversation about the experiences of Traveller children in care, they touch upon their own upbringing as Travellers, and the activists and community and family members who inspired them. The conversation turns to the underlying discrimination in Irish society against Travellers, which results in a plethora of negative effects on families and children. Elizabeth and Bridget highlight the critical importance of cultural awareness among the settled fostering community, so that traveller children are not denied an experience of their cultural identity. They describe how a great source of cultural awareness for children and families, both Traveller and settled, is the children’s book The Fairy Queen written by Elizabeth’s mother, writer Chrissie Donoghue Ward.

To close the conversation, Elizabeth reads one of her mother’s poems, written for her daughter at a time when she was facing challenges in school.

Exchange House Ireland National Travellers Service can be contacted at: https://www.exchangehouse.ie/ Phone: 01 872 1094 or Email: [email protected]

The Fairy Queen by Chrissie Donoghue Ward is illustrated by Monika Mitkute and published by Skein Press and Little Island. It is available to buy directly from Skein Press or at bookshops nationwide. https://skeinpress.com/product/the-fairy-queen-by-chrissy-donoghue-ward/

About the podcast – Stories from Foster Care is brought to you by the Irish Foster Care Association in association with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. Join host Niamh Barrett as she meets people from all walks of life who have different experiences of foster care in Ireland. Listen to Stories from Foster Care on Spotify, Apple, Nearcast or wherever you get your podcasts. Be sure to subscribe for all the latest episodes.

The music on this podcast is a track called Pastures by Ketsa, the music appears here under a Creative Commons Licence. Stories from Foster Care is made with the Near FM podcast network. For more information and how to get involved visit https://nearcast.ie/get-involved/

Part 2 of 2 – Part one is available here and on Spotify here

In this two-part interview, Niamh is speaking with Katie Wrench. Katie is a social worker, art psychotherapist and author. She and her family have also been respite foster carers. Katie was IFCA’s keynote speaker at its 2022 conference, Wrapped in Relationships. Katie Wrench is a deeply experienced, empathetic and engaging communicator. She has so much to share that we decided to release her episode in two parts.

In part two we delve into Life Story Work, a practice that Katie has written two books about. She is now involved in training practitioners in the BUSS model (Building Underdeveloped Sensorimotor Systems). She shares her thoughts on what is really needed in the field of foster care in this moment.

Resources – books:

·  Life Story Work with Children Who are Fostered or Adopted: Creative Ideas and Activities (2013)
Co-authored with Lesley Naylor. A practical, creativity-infused guide for life story work with fostered or adopted children. Jessica Kingsley Publishers – UKGoodreadsHachette UK

·  Helping Vulnerable Children and Adolescents to Stay Safe: Creative Ideas and Activities for Building Protective Behaviours (2016)
A compendium of creative techniques to support vulnerable young people in developing protective behaviours. Jessica Kingsley Publishers – UKamazon.comHachette UK

·  Creative Ideas for Assessing Vulnerable Children and Families (2018)
A hands-on, inventive toolkit designed to assist practitioners in engaging with vulnerable children and families effectively. Jessica Kingsley Publishers – UKHachette UKThriftBooks

·  Skills and Knowledge for Life Story Work with Children and Adolescents (2024)
An updated, comprehensive manual that builds on a long-standing 6-step life-story work model, enriched with contemporary theory and case examples. 

Websites: https://www.blossomsocialcaretraining.co.uk/about-the-trainers/

https://bussmodel.org/

About the podcast – Stories from Foster Care is brought to you by the Irish Foster Care Association in association with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. Join host Niamh Barrett as she meets people from all walks of life who have different experiences of foster care in Ireland. Listen to Stories from Foster Care on Spotify, Apple, Nearcast or wherever you get your podcasts. Be sure to subscribe for all the latest episodes.

The music on this podcast is a track called Pastures by Ketsa, the music appears here under a Creative Commons Licence. Stories from Foster Care is made with the Near FM podcast network. For more information and how to get involved visit https://nearcast.ie/get-involved/

In this two-part interview, Niamh is speaking with Katie Wrench. Katie is a social worker, art psychotherapist and author. She and her family have also been respite foster carers. Katie was IFCA’s keynote speaker at its 2022 conference, Wrapped in Relationships.

Katie Wrench is a deeply experienced, empathetic and engaging communicator. She has so much to share that we decided to release her episode in two parts.

In part one, she talks about her pathway into social work and, with some brilliant stories and examples, she shares some of the valuable learning she received along the way.

In part two we delve into Life Story Work, a practice that Katie has written two books about. She is now involved in training practitioners in the BUSS model (Building Underdeveloped Sensorimotor Systems). She shares her thoughts on what is really needed in the field of foster care in this moment.

Resources – books:

·  Life Story Work with Children Who are Fostered or Adopted: Creative Ideas and Activities (2013)
Co-authored with Lesley Naylor. A practical, creativity-infused guide for life story work with fostered or adopted children. Jessica Kingsley Publishers – UKGoodreadsHachette UK

·  Helping Vulnerable Children and Adolescents to Stay Safe: Creative Ideas and Activities for Building Protective Behaviours (2016)
A compendium of creative techniques to support vulnerable young people in developing protective behaviours. Jessica Kingsley Publishers – UKamazon.comHachette UK

·  Creative Ideas for Assessing Vulnerable Children and Families (2018)
A hands-on, inventive toolkit designed to assist practitioners in engaging with vulnerable children and families effectively. Jessica Kingsley Publishers – UKHachette UKThriftBooks

·  Skills and Knowledge for Life Story Work with Children and Adolescents (2024)
An updated, comprehensive manual that builds on a long-standing 6-step life-story work model, enriched with contemporary theory and case examples. 

Websites: https://www.blossomsocialcaretraining.co.uk/about-the-trainers/

https://bussmodel.org/

About the podcast – Stories from Foster Care is brought to you by the Irish Foster Care Association in association with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. Join host Niamh Barrett as she meets people from all walks of life who have different experiences of foster care in Ireland. Listen to Stories from Foster Care on Spotify, Apple, Nearcast or wherever you get your podcasts. Be sure to subscribe for all the latest episodes.

The music on this podcast is a track called Pastures by Ketsa, the music appears here under a Creative Commons Licence. Stories from Foster Care is made with the Near FM podcast network. For more information and how to get involved visit https://nearcast.ie/get-involved/

In this episode of Stories from Foster Care, Andrew is speaking with Kai Brosnan. Kai spent time in residential care and he shares his lived experience in a way that dispels a few myths and encourages a better understanding of it. Kai speaks movingly about the people, organisations such as EPIC, and even the beloved pet who have been beacons of support for him on his care journey. He has just completed his studies in Social Care and will clearly be a strong and inspiring advocate for the care-experienced community in the years to come.

EPIC – https://www.epiconline.ie/

Stories from Foster Care is a podcast series from The Irish Foster Care Association, subscribe now on Spotify at the following link https://open.spotify.com/show/2V0EH1oh4wG4WrSn6Kr6Xv?si=aa2fa635e6f94477

About the podcast – Stories from Foster Care is brought to you by the Irish Foster Care Association in association with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. Join host Niamh Barrett as she meets people from all walks of life who have different experiences of foster care in Ireland. Listen to Stories from Foster Care on Spotify, Apple, Nearcast or wherever you get your podcasts. Be sure to subscribe for all the latest episodes.

The music on this podcast is a track called Pastures by Ketsa, the music appears here under a Creative Commons Licence. Stories from Foster Care is made with the Near FM podcast network. For more information and how to get involved visit https://nearcast.ie/get-involved/

In this episode of Stories from Foster Care, Niamh is talking to Andrea Reilly. Andrea is a passionate advocate for other young people, particularly those with lived experience in care.

Andrea is committed to shining a light on the misunderstood, under-acknowledged and under-diagnosed condition of Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) by speaking from her own lived experience of it. As a key member of EPIC (Empowering People in Care) she focuses specifically on FASD and care experience, and on Aftercare.

In an inspiring conversation Andrea reflects in-depth on her experience of living with FASD, stepping into the role of advocate, how Aftercare provision needs to change, and the role her foster mother in particular has played in her development.

She mentioned the following organisations:

FASD Ireland (national conference takes place on May 22, 2025) https://www.fasdireland.ie/

EPIC – https://www.epiconline.ie/

Stories from Foster Care is a podcast series from The Irish Foster Care Association, subscribe now on Spotify at the following link https://open.spotify.com/show/2V0EH1oh4wG4WrSn6Kr6Xv?si=aa2fa635e6f94477

About the podcast – Stories from Foster Care is brought to you by the Irish Foster Care Association in association with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. Join host Niamh Barrett as she meets people from all walks of life who have different experiences of foster care in Ireland. Listen to Stories from Foster Care on Spotify, Apple, Nearcast or wherever you get your podcasts. Be sure to subscribe for all the latest episodes.

The music on this podcast is a track called Pastures by Ketsa, the music appears here under a Creative Commons Licence. Stories from Foster Care is made with the Near FM podcast network. For more information and how to get involved visit https://nearcast.ie/get-involved/

In this latest episode of Stories from Foster Care, Niamh talks to father and foster daughter Niall Sheehan and Lauren O’Toole. An honest and wide-ranging conversation about the ups and downs of foster care, and a glimpse into a deep fostering relationship. Stories from Foster Care is a podcast series from The Irish Foster Care Association, subscribe now on Spotify at the following link https://open.spotify.com/show/2V0EH1oh4wG4WrSn6Kr6Xv?si=aa2fa635e6f94477

About the podcast – Stories from Foster Care is brought to you by the Irish Foster Care Association in association with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. Join host Niamh Barrett as she meets people from all walks of life who have different experiences of foster care in Ireland. Listen to Stories from Foster Care on Spotify, Apple, Nearcast or wherever you get your podcasts. Be sure to subscribe for all the latest episodes.

The music on this podcast is a track called Pastures by Ketsa, the music appears here under a Creative Commons Licence. Stories from Foster Care is made with the Near FM podcast network. For more information and how to get involved visit https://nearcast.ie/get-involved/

In this latest episode of Stories from Foster Care, Niamh talks to Shaunagh Cunningham about her childhood experiences before being taken into care, her current work as an advocate for children in care through the Care Experiences project, and her perspective as a member of Tusla staff. The conversation with this passionate young advocate is honest and both heartbreaking and heartening. The topic of sexual abuse is mentioned briefly and so listener discretion is advised.

Find out more about the Care Experiences project at: https://www.gov.ie/en/campaigns/3d558-care-experiences-journeys-through-irish-care-system/

About the podcast – Stories from Foster Care is brought to you by the Irish Foster Care Association in association with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. Join host Niamh Barrett as she meets people from all walks of life who have different experiences of foster care in Ireland. Listen to Stories from Foster Care on Spotify, Apple, Nearcast or wherever you get your podcasts. Be sure to subscribe for all the latest episodes.

The music on this podcast is a track called Pastures by Ketsa, the music appears here under a Creative Commons Licence. Stories from Foster Care is made with the Nearcast podcast network. For more information on Nearcast and how to get involved visit https://nearcast.ie/get-involved/

Our guest on this episode of the Stories from Foster Care podcast is Fiona Neary, author of Parcels in the Post: Growing up with Fifty Siblings. She joins Niamh over Zoom for an honest, reflective and wide-ranging conversation which touches on many aspects of the care system in Ireland. Fiona shares her experiences of fostering in the Ireland of the 1980s and 90s, and she also talks about how she went on to become a passionate advocate for those without a voice in Irish society – a passion that the experience of fostering instilled in her.

Parcels in the Post: Growing up with Fifty Siblings is published by New Island and is available to buy at bookstores nationwide or online. https://www.newisland.ie/nonfiction/parcels-in-the-post-growing-up-with-fifty-siblings

About the podcast – Stories from Foster Care is brought to you by the Irish Foster Care Association in association with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. Join host Niamh Barrett as she meets people from all walks of life who have different experiences of foster care in Ireland. Listen to Stories from Foster Care on Spotify, Apple, Nearcast or wherever you get your podcasts. Be sure to subscribe for all the latest episodes.

The music on this podcast is a track called Pastures by Ketsa, the music appears here under a Creative Commons Licence. Stories from Foster Care is made with the Nearcast podcast network. For more information on Nearcast and how to get involved visit https://nearcast.ie/get-involved/

In this episode of the podcast Niamh talks to Sadie Harpur, author of The Hidden World of a Foster-Girl (co-written with journalist and author Jackie Hayden). Sadie talks about her experience in infancy of undergoing multiple moves in care, her relationships with her twin sister Kizzy and her birth- and foster-families, and some of the turning points and people that brought stability to her life.

The Hidden World of a Foster Girl is available to buy at Bridge Street books, Wicklow town, Hampton’s bookshop, Donnybrook, Dublin 4. And in local bookshops in Maynooth, Wexford town, Gorey, Enniscorthy and Rosslare. You can buy it online at

https://booksupstairs.ie/product/the-hidden-world-of-a-foster-girl/https://bridgestreetbooks.ie/product/the-hidden-world-of-a-foster-girl/

About the podcast – Stories from Foster Care is brought to you by the Irish Foster Care Association in association with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. Join host Niamh Barrett as she meets people from all walks of life who have different experiences of foster care in Ireland. Listen to Stories from Foster Care on Spotify, Apple, Nearcast or wherever you get your podcasts. Be sure to subscribe for all the latest episodes.

The music on this podcast is a track called Pastures by Ketsa, the music appears here under a Creative Commons Licence. Stories from Foster Care is made with the Nearcast podcast network. For more information on Nearcast and how to get involved visit https://nearcast.ie/get-involved/

Our guests on the twelfth episode of the Stories from Foster Care podcast are Josie Corr and Thomas Monahan, a foster carer and her now-adult foster son who join Andrew Murphy over Zoom. In a reflective and honest conversation they talk to Andrew about their lives together in fostering. Among other topics, they explore the importance of understanding the system so that children in care can access the full range of supports available to them, especially regarding aftercare.

About the podcast – Stories from Foster Care is brought to you by the Irish Foster Care Association in association with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. Join host Niamh Barrett as she meets people from all walks of life who have different experiences of foster care in Ireland. Listen to Stories from Foster Care on Spotify, Apple, Nearcast or wherever you get your podcasts. Be sure to subscribe for all the latest episodes.

The music on this podcast is a track called Pastures by Ketsa, the music appears here under a Creative Commons Licence.

Stories from Foster Care is made with the Nearcast podcast network. For more information on Nearcast and how to get involved visit https://nearcast.ie/get-involved/