Holistic Healthcare Training & Development

02/05/2026

Yesterday marked the end of a deeply meaningful chapter, completing my postgraduate journey in Teaching & Learning in Community Development at Maynooth University.

Situated in the building beside this on campus, I often paused at the Freedom sculpture created by the renowned Polish-Irish artist Alexandra Wejchert. There’s something powerful about it.
A figure in motion, suspended between struggle and release. It felt like a mirror at times: the tension between uncertainty and growth, between who you were and who you are becoming. Freedom, not as something handed to you, but something shaped through learning, questioning, and community.

This experience has been more than academic. It has been a privilege. One I don’t take lightly. The opportunity to access education, to have my voice heard, to critically engage with the world and imagine change, these are freedoms built on the resilience and courage of those who came before us. Their legacy sits quietly in lecture halls, in conversations, in the confidence to speak.

Community development reminds us that learning is never just personal and always political.
It ripples outward.
It lives in the spaces we create for others, in the work we do alongside people, not for them, and in the belief that knowledge can be a tool for justice.

Grateful for the people, the challenges, the growth, and the moments that reshaped me.
Grateful for my Community of Practice in SETU who paved the foundations for this leap of faith...

Here’s to carrying that sense of purpose forward and to the ongoing work of building something freer, together.

27/04/2026

I was today years old when I learned that “recombobulation areas” exist… and honestly, I feel seen. 😄

As someone who has spent a fair portion of life feeling gloriously discombobulated, I’m officially declaring this chapter, approaching 50, fully menopausal, and fully myself, my Recombobulation Era.

A time to pause, reset, gather the scattered pieces, and put them back together in a way that actually suits me.

Less chaos, more clarity (in the chaos).
Less apologising, more owning.

I consider this my gentle invitation to step into my own recombobulation era.
I'm allowed to begin again. Stronger, wiser, and entirely on my own terms. 💫

07/11/2025

https://share.google/wZy8KPHec54W0vFmY

06/11/2025

28/08/2025

27/07/2025

CFR/CPR course taking place on 31st July at the Ballinasloe Enterprise Hub H53 TH24. Please contact us to book your place

26/06/2025

💚

21/06/2025

Great opportunity for family carers 💜

We are delivering ‘Insights into Dementia – Informing and Empowering Family Carers in various Counties nationwide and online courses. Join the waiting list today!

09/06/2025

Family Carers Ireland 💙

It's and we have a packed programme of online events over the coming days. See www.eventbrite.ie/o/family-carers-ireland-26362127125 to register or visit www.familycarers.ie/events for info on all virtual and in-person activities across the week.

07/06/2025

Are we all oversharing?

04/06/2025

♥️♥️♥️

You can have your dead person at home for a few days after their death if you wish. If they died at home, they can stay there for a while until you are ready. If they died elsewhere, they can come home. You do not need to send your person off to a funeral director (if using one at all) straight away if you don’t want to. All of these things are doable and most importantly, legal (in the UK) If the death was expected and has been verified, you can do whatever you like with your person after death as regards care of the body and where they go 🙏🏼

Realistically, you can keep a dead person at home for a few days, possibly a week but that might be pushing it, especially in the warmer weather. This is because of the natural decomposition of the body. It also depends on the physical state of the body when they died, if they have any wounds etc and the tools you can create/have access to make it happen.

The essential things to consider and put in place are….
- closing the mouth of your person. You may need to use something to do this like elastic around the head or towels placed under the chin.
- possibly blocking other orifices if planning on keeping the body for more than a few days.
- keeping the torso cold. You can do this using ice packs/frozen bottles of water/any frozen foods (I have used fish fingers and peas before) These would sit under arms, in between legs and around the chest/stomach/neck
- keeping windows closed (flies/bugs)
- keeping the room as cool as possible
- keeping the body flat

Some funeral directors will have equipment such as cooling blankets/ice packs to help. Some have cuddle cots for babies. Find out if anyone local to you has these facilities available. You can also get support to do this from someone like myself 🙏🏼❤️

It is more common than you may realise. Some people just need a day or night, just a bit more time before they let their person go. Some do it for religious ritual reasons. Some folks I have supported have put it in their death plan that they want stay at home, or go home after they die before they go to the funeral directors. All of this is legal. And it is important we all know we have choices and options ❤️

04/06/2025

Hi, my name is Caroline and I am raising funds for a dear friend in Gaza, Anas Arafat. … Caroline Hartley needs your support for Support mutual aid in Gaza