'Connection is important for our mental health...' Maria Fleming, CEO of the First Fortnight Mental Health Art & Culture Festival, introduces this year's Nollaig na mBan celebrations at First Fortnight.
First Fortnight 2024 takes place January 5th to January 14th, with over 70 events across the festival. As CEO I cannot have favourites in the programme but I do have a special place in my heart for one day during the festival - and that day is Nollaig na mBan.
Nollaig na mBan, or Women's Christmas is celebrated on January 6th. Originally the day was seen as an opportunity to allow women a day off household chores following the busy Christmas period and men took over these duties for the day. More recently, women have reclaimed the day as an opportunity to meet with female friends and celebrate friendship.
I have enjoyed celebrating Nollaig na mBan with my friends over the years and I was excited to programme a day for women in our festival. This year we are holding a trilogy of events on Saturday January 6th, each contributing in its own unique way to this year's festival theme, The Art Of Mental Health, while also acknowledging and celebrating all mNá on this traditional day of importance.
We start the day with a lunchtime event with our partners in Mental Health Reform, Mental Health Ireland and the National Women’s Council. In 2019, a Women’s Health Taskforce was established to improve women’s health outcomes and experiences of healthcare. In 2021, addressing gaps in mental health services for women was identified as a priority. Our panel discussion brings together several stakeholders in women’s mental health to consider the current standing of mental health care for women in Ireland, and to explore what we can do next. The panel includes Fiona Coyle, of Mental Health Reform, Claire Flynn from Mental Health Ireland and Kate Mitchell, of the National Women’s Council.
We follow with a panel discussion later in the day at 3.00pm, entitled The Sea and Me. In recent years, Irish women have taken to the sea for the physical and mental health benefits of open water swimming. At our event we will hear from two women who turned to the sea for solace, motivation, and joy; Claire Walsh, author of Under Water, is a freediver, year-round sea swimmer and teacher of breathwork courses who moved to the coast in her twenties and never looked back, while Ruth Fitzmaurice is the author of I Found My Tribe, the moving tale of how she found solace from family trauma in the cold waters of the Irish Sea. Claire and Ruth will inspire us while sharing their stories.
In the evening we round off our day with an evening of celebration, where we are thrilled to host Irish Women In Harmony in performance; we could not wish for a more fitting musical performance for this special day. Likewise, we are delighted that author Louise Nealon (Snowflake) can also join us, together with Barbara Brennan, an inspirational thought leader in the field of mental health. She has over 14 years' experience in changing the culture of mental health at all levels of society. We are delighted that Barbara will join us to share her story.
Connection is important for our mental health, so we are thrilled to offer this fantastic day and night of opportunities to connect with old friends and make new friends.
First Fortnight celebrates Nollaig na mBan at Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin on January 6th 2023 - find out more here.
