AoifeOCarroll's Blog

My 20-year-old son has just been had for the first time. The soft-eyed baby with the laddish swagger who thought he had everything sussed, got sucked in by a scamming addict who conned him and his friend out of €200 each for a deposit on an apartment that was never his to let out. Finding accommodation in Galway is not easy, so when the two lads found a mature student who claimed to be moving...

I'm no petrol head. In fact, I’m at my happiest out in the wilds, far from traffic, with miles of sky overhead and a pair of nutty dogs lolloping beside me. Given the choice, I will walk or run or cycle rather than drive. That said, I have a soft spot for my car. I am not proud to admit that I have spent several minutes just sitting in it after I have driven home from work (it’s a 20-mile...

From speaking to other mothers, I know I am not alone in thinking that work can be an awful waste of time. Take today, for example: the sun was flaming in a cloudless sky — not that you could feel it in the chilly confines of our air-conditioned office — and all I could think about was: a) I could have put a second wash out; b) I should be at the beach with my kids; c) Why didn’t I do...

A new Unicef report has found that Ireland has the fourth-highest teen suicide rate among the world’s high-income countries. Things are so bad, that the report grimly forecasts that one in 10,000 Irish kids between the ages of 15 and 19 will die by their own hand. I have two children who fall into that category; you may have a couple, and, indeed, virtually all of those children who will take...

There is an ad on the radio at the moment that I find myself identifying with a lot, lately. In it, a small child comes bounding into his parents’ bedroom on a weekend morning, gleefully reminding them that this is the day they promised to take him to the park. Mum and Dad groan and tell him to go and watch cartoons while they sleep off their hangovers (They don’t actually tell him that’s...

One of my favourite things about going to the hairdresser is flicking through the magazines. I weaned myself off glossies years ago, about the time when it was a choice between Marie Claire and a pack of nappies, but I still love a good Grazia binge when I’m getting my roots done. Last week, I had the pleasure of discovering what a typical day in the life of supermodel and successful...

You can imagine my surprise and delight to receive not one, but two invitations to parent-teacher meetings in one week. Thankfully, the invitations arrived at such short notice (a week in one case, and two days in the other) that I did not have an opportunity to build up much of a sense of dread and apprehension. As it happened, the events were two very different experiences, prompting me to...

Most of us have been paid; the end of January is nigh; and wonderful spring is just around the corner. However, many of us are still clinging to our New Year’s resolutions, persisting in the myth that we are actually still keeping up our virtuous lifestyles. However, the evidence suggests otherwise. If any of the following apply to you, it is time to face reality and enjoy life without the pain...

After my third child reached 12 years of age, I thought my baby days were over, but I had reckoned without the persuasive powers of my second child. One dog is enough, I insisted. I’m working, you’re in school, I reasoned. You’re going to college in two years. You’ll have to walk him and feed him and look after him. All very reasonable arguments. So why do I now have an eight-week-old...

At tea break the other day, one of the women I work with recounted the trials she went through to secure a Hatchimal for her daughter for Christmas. (Note to those without children under ten: A Hatchimal is a Furby-like bird that pecks its way out of a plastic egg once it gets attention. More on Furbys below). She did track one down eventually in T.K. Maxx, so now Christmas has been salvaged...