Sherie de Burgh event: 'An Education First Approach for Lone Parents'

Join One Family and School of Social Work and Social Policy, Trinity College Dublin on Thursday 12th February at 5:30 pm for the 7th annual commemorative Sherie de Burgh event. This year’s theme will be 'An Education First Approach for Lone Parents'. This event will be held in the Trinity Research in Social Sciences (TRiSS) seminar room on the 6th Floor of the Arts Block.
Chaired by Dr Catherine Conlon, Head of School Social Policy School of Social Work and Social Policy, Trinity College Dublin, the event will discuss:

• How Ireland’s social welfare and activation policies impact one-parent families, particularly those headed by women
• Failures of current activation policies to support people into work or education
• The intersection of care responsibilities and return-to-education for female lone parents and systemic barriers which make this difficult
• The lived experience of female lone parents returning to education and what policymakers, researchers and civil society can change to improve pathways to work and education
• The idea of agentic capacity, which means having real choice and control over decisions about care, work, and education
  

Speakers include:

• Dr Fiona Dukelow, Senior Lecturer in Social Policy, University College Cork
• Dr Joe Whelan, Assistant Professor, School of Social Work and Social Policy, Trinity College Dublin
• Dorota Lewandowska, Parent Perspective
• Cary Bailey, Policy Manager, One Family
• Policymakers to be confirmed

If you have an accessibility requirements, please contact Erin Paullin at by 9 February 2026.

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