Female health the focus of Women’s Assembly

True to form Monaghan Women’s Assembly’s offering for International Women’s Day was unusual and engaging. The upstairs room in the Peace Campus was full of women of all ages on Wednesday last, March 11, who came to listen to Dr Aideen Brides, GP with the Rossmore Clinic, who spoke on female health matters, from menopause to free birth control.

Speaking to The Anglo-Celt, Dr Brides explained why she decided to speak at the event: “I’m passionate about women’s health. It’s a whole area on its own. There’s a lot of things that are very specific to women, namely menopause, but also usually contraceptive requirements fall to women as well. I wanted to give a well-rounded talk covering all those aspects and other issues like bone health and the importance of diet and exercise.”

The Monaghan Town GP who runs a practice with her husband, said that she felt privileged to see a wide variety of women presenting with a myriad of issues. Women, she added, tend to put their families first and leave their needs, including those related to health, until last. She praised Monaghan Women’s Assembly (MWA) and thanked them for the opportunity to address the women present and encourage them to look after themselves.

Dr Aideen’s talk was theory based, so Mairead Flynn’s was more about practice. Mairead is a yoga instructor from Clones and she runs breathingspace.ie. The morning provided an opportunity for audience members, who are always on the go, to sit, relax and recalibrate. It was a very pleasant way to spend a Wednesday morning during which audience members were equipped with tools to help them better navigate their health, busy schedules and hectic lifestyles.

Mairead encouraged the women present to focus more on the good but conceded that this can be difficult because we are hardwired to stay safe. That’s why near-death experiences remain in our psyche for a lot longer than something that made us laugh.

Before she took to the stage, Mairead told this reporter: “I’m going to be talking about strategies to reduce the stress in our system and to build capacity. I like to use the word capacity these days rather than resilience because it has become a bit of an industry.”

Deputy Cathy Bennett (SF), who is the former MWA Chairperson, talked about the importance of women’s healthcare and encouraged the women present to come to herself, or her three female party colleagues on the local authority about problems they were encountering as women and they would be met with a listening ear. The TD also noted that one of the functions of Monaghan Women’s Assembly was to encourage more females to advocate for themselves.

Current MWA Chairperson Councillor Sinéad Flynn, was delighted by the turnout on the morning and how well it was received. She thanked the guest speakers and everyone who spent the morning with them. She encouraged people to join as it is a free social outlet, there are interesting events held throughout the year and outings too.