Disability advocate Ann Kennedy defies illness to stage first art exhibit in 17 years
That creative slump was brought on by her illness, which she so candidly described in her memoir, Unprotected, which details the difficulties she has faced in life due to being born with Rubella.
Congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) is an illness in infants that results from maternal infection with rubella virus during pregnancy. A child can be born with severe hearing loss and/or visual impairment, congenital cataracts, heart defects, and gradually develop a myriad of other significant challenges. Ann shares this same birth experience with her twin sister, Margaret.
In 2017, she told the Irish Independent: 'I woke at seven this morning, and I was crying. I'm depressed and feel utterly hopeless. That often happens. Sometimes we think of ending it all; we are so terribly weary of fighting.'
Those heartbreaking words were written when she and her sister, both then 64, admitted they were struggling to get the professional help and support they needed.
As children growing up in Killiney, they had to battle with a hearing impairment, and by their early 20s, had followed their own paths. Ann was doing animation in London, collaborating on projects such as the Watership Down movie and promotions for Pink Floyd, while Margaret trained as a nurse at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Ann returned to Ireland and became an accomplished artist and award-winning writer and illustrator of children's books but when the sisters were in their 40s, they encountered health issues that had a serious impact on their ability to function.
Over the next few years, they were both tested and it was discovered that some of their health problems included Parkinson's disease and muscle myopathy (muscle wasting disease), which requires them to use wheelchairs most of the time.
They moved to Greystones but left in 2015, after what Ann described as 'dreadful years' in an open letter, which ended with the parting words: 'I never wish to see the place again and hope I can erase the memory from my mind swiftly once I do leave.'
Thankfully, her memories of Bray are more florid as she makes a welcome return with her new exhibition, 'All in the Brain'. The exhibition of works slowly began to take form years after that visit in 2008 and the ensuing slump, when 'one day,' she said, 'being brave, I visited an art shop'.
ADVERTISEMENT
Learn more
"I began again,' she said of the new exhibition. 'It was now all in the brain and the brain would have to perform in some fashion. I knew this was going to be different and punctuated with hesitancy, despondency and confusion. Grave self-doubt enveloped me. I worked from a perspective of loss. What I produced were experimentations, learning to capture my inadequacy and hopefully some adequacy. I gave myself permission to fail in the hope I could achieve.'
While she admits she 'caved many times and withered', her strength and perseverance has brought the new body of work which will be on display at the gallery until Sunday, August 3.
'I propose to show a body of creative painting that defy my personal reason. I propose to offer hope to the community of sick, older people and those with disability that if you want to paint, then paint. The work will be eclectic as personal strength is returning and styles keep changing. I begin making decisions again, abandon some and accept others. It's all in the learning,' she said.
'A decade of inaction through ill health and mystery requires opening my personal Pandora's Box. Gold may not be in fact gold, but nothing can change a person who creates through love and abandon. That is my gold, silver and bronze. Even if not in equal proportions.'
The opening reception for All in the Brain is on Sunday, July 27, from 3-5pm.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Independent
3 days ago
- Irish Independent
Disability advocate Ann Kennedy defies illness to stage first art exhibit in 17 years
Ann Kennedy, who was born in 1952, has fond memories from when she last exhibited in Bray, in 2008, when she recalled eating pizza on Albert Walk, with friends and family, before returning home only to lapse into a terribly difficult period. As she said herself: 'I ceased all creative work for 10 full years'. That creative slump was brought on by her illness, which she so candidly described in her memoir, Unprotected, which details the difficulties she has faced in life due to being born with Rubella. Congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) is an illness in infants that results from maternal infection with rubella virus during pregnancy. A child can be born with severe hearing loss and/or visual impairment, congenital cataracts, heart defects, and gradually develop a myriad of other significant challenges. Ann shares this same birth experience with her twin sister, Margaret. In 2017, she told the Irish Independent: 'I woke at seven this morning, and I was crying. I'm depressed and feel utterly hopeless. That often happens. Sometimes we think of ending it all; we are so terribly weary of fighting.' Those heartbreaking words were written when she and her sister, both then 64, admitted they were struggling to get the professional help and support they needed. As children growing up in Killiney, they had to battle with a hearing impairment, and by their early 20s, had followed their own paths. Ann was doing animation in London, collaborating on projects such as the Watership Down movie and promotions for Pink Floyd, while Margaret trained as a nurse at Great Ormond Street Hospital. Ann returned to Ireland and became an accomplished artist and award-winning writer and illustrator of children's books but when the sisters were in their 40s, they encountered health issues that had a serious impact on their ability to function. Over the next few years, they were both tested and it was discovered that some of their health problems included Parkinson's disease and muscle myopathy (muscle wasting disease), which requires them to use wheelchairs most of the time. They moved to Greystones but left in 2015, after what Ann described as 'dreadful years' in an open letter, which ended with the parting words: 'I never wish to see the place again and hope I can erase the memory from my mind swiftly once I do leave.' Thankfully, her memories of Bray are more florid as she makes a welcome return with her new exhibition, 'All in the Brain'. The exhibition of works slowly began to take form years after that visit in 2008 and the ensuing slump, when 'one day,' she said, 'being brave, I visited an art shop'. ADVERTISEMENT Learn more "I began again,' she said of the new exhibition. 'It was now all in the brain and the brain would have to perform in some fashion. I knew this was going to be different and punctuated with hesitancy, despondency and confusion. Grave self-doubt enveloped me. I worked from a perspective of loss. What I produced were experimentations, learning to capture my inadequacy and hopefully some adequacy. I gave myself permission to fail in the hope I could achieve.' While she admits she 'caved many times and withered', her strength and perseverance has brought the new body of work which will be on display at the gallery until Sunday, August 3. 'I propose to show a body of creative painting that defy my personal reason. I propose to offer hope to the community of sick, older people and those with disability that if you want to paint, then paint. The work will be eclectic as personal strength is returning and styles keep changing. I begin making decisions again, abandon some and accept others. It's all in the learning,' she said. 'A decade of inaction through ill health and mystery requires opening my personal Pandora's Box. Gold may not be in fact gold, but nothing can change a person who creates through love and abandon. That is my gold, silver and bronze. Even if not in equal proportions.' The opening reception for All in the Brain is on Sunday, July 27, from 3-5pm.
Irish Examiner
7 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Sex File: My partner wants to try new things in bed
I am in my 60s and have been in a relationship with a man for ten years. We have always enjoyed our sex life, but now he keeps wanting to try new things, talking about fantasies of me with other men and women - including a female friend he has history with - which is turning me off. Is there a way back to the sex we used to enjoy? By the time men and women are in their mid to late 60s, sexual desire is usually declining and about half of all men in their 60s experience erectile dysfunction. The simplest explanation for the change in your partner's behaviour, therefore, is that he now needs stronger stimuli to achieve the same level of arousal and is using sexual fantasy to increase excitement. There seems to be some underlying concern for you about when the female friend he has history with became part of this narrative, but try not to jump to conclusions. He may simply be nursing an infatuation as a way of turbocharging his interest in sex. Whether an infatuation is reciprocated or not, it is a dopamine rush, a euphoric state fuelled by lust and novelty. The possessed can think of nothing else and so they strive to introduce the person they are fixated on into any conversation, at any opportunity. Telling you about his fantasies may be a way for your partner to increase his sexual energy, but it is quite likely that the woman in question is oblivious to your partner's sexual interest in her. Frenzied sexual vigour rarely comes from nowhere, especially in older men, so it's worth thinking about when this all started and what might have triggered it. Has he started watching a lot of porn? Did he start taking Viagra recently? Has he had other health issues? You don't mention any recent diagnoses, so this information may be irrelevant, but it is worth asking the questions in case they provide answers. Older men occasionally experience intense sexual fantasies, urges or behaviours as an unintended side-effect of drugs that are prescribed for medical conditions such as Parkinson's disease or restless leg syndrome. It's also well known that people with dementia can become overly interested in sex - but less well known that sexual behaviour can change before any sign of cognitive decline. Psychiatrists at Uskudar University in Istanbul published a case study of a 55-year-old man who had been brought to their clinic by his wife. She was upset because he had started to stay up all night talking to women online. He was also demanding more sex from her. Neither the patient nor his wife reported any cognitive decline but MRI scans of the husband's brain subsequently revealed that he had frontotemporal dementia. There is a lot to think about here. Your partner has been willing to share his fantasies with you and consistently puts you at the centre of them. These are good signs, but you might need to be more open about how his behaviour makes you feel so that he can allay any doubts you have about what is really driving it. If he can reassure you that there is no one else involved and that this is an attempt to inject some excitement into your relationship, there is every chance you can harness his newfound enthusiasm for sex in a very positive way. Send your questions to suzigodson@
The Irish Sun
10-07-2025
- The Irish Sun
I've lost 5 stone on Mounjaro but have a ‘painful', ‘burning' side effect no one talks about – it's driving me crazy
A WOMAN who dropped five stone using Mounjaro has warned other users of a 'painful' side effect that's making her life hell. Ann, who shares her weight loss journey on TikTok, opened up about her lesser-known struggle after taking the popular jab for 40 weeks. 2 A tiktoker has shared her rarely discussed Mounjaro side-effect 2 Ann has lost five stones on Mounjaro Credit: @beingann She says the treatment, which has helped thousands shed serious weight, has left her with extreme skin sensitivity that feels like 'burning' and 'sandpaper'. And despite trawling the internet for answers, she says there's little info on it and wants others to speak up if they're suffering too. In the video, she explained: 'I've been on Mounjaro for 40 weeks and lost about five stone. "But one thing I'm really struggling with is this skin sensitivity. It's a side effect that just isn't spoken about.' Read more on mounjaro Anne described the sensation as 'painful and 'It feels like someone's taken sandpaper to my skin,' she said. She claims the pain, which is on the outside and back of her thigh, hip and knee, is extremely painful, driving her crazy. She added that it's so bad, she can't sleep properly because the discomfort keeps her up at night. Most read in Fabulous While she initially thought it could be linked to her injection site, she recently switched from stomach to thigh and the pain appeared on the opposite side, ruling that out. I went on fat jabs but the hair loss was unbelievable so I quit - I'd rather be chubby with hair than skinny and bald The comment section lit up with others saying they'd experienced similar but, like Anne, couldn't find much official guidance. One fellow user said: 'Yes, I've had it too. It's not spoken about enough!' And Ann's not the only one raising the alarm. Other TikTokers have reported soreness, itching, and acne since starting Mounjaro, with many saying they feel 'hypersensitive' in the sun. In fact, one Mounjaro user recently warned followers to up their SPF game this summer as the drug can make your skin more prone to burning. That's why experts are urging anyone on GLP-1 meds like Mounjaro or Ozempic to step up their sun protection game. Skincare brand HydroPeptide has dropped a high-end range of SPFs packed with peptides and soothing ingredients to shield sensitive skin. Their Or there's If you're looking for a more budget-friendly option Superdrug now stocks It's already earning rave reviews for being an on-the-go SPF essential. Meanwhile, skincare brand Image has launched the first ever GLP-1-friendly moisturiser designed to tackle so-called 'Ozempic face' to help fix the gaunt, sagging skin look. So if you're shedding the pounds but feeling the burn in more ways than one, you're not alone. Ann says she's speaking out in the hopes that others will share their experiences too and get the support they need. Because when it comes to Mounjaro, weight loss might be the headline but for some, the side effects are the real story. Meanwhile, experts are getting candid on a complication that might shock many. From eggy burps to stomach-churning nausea, there appears to be an What to do if you lose too much weight too quickly whilst on Mounjaro IF you're losing too much weight too quickly while on Mounjaro, it's important to take action to avoid potential health risks like muscle loss, malnutrition, dehydration, and fatigue. Here's what you can do: Evaluate Your Caloric Intake Mounjaro reduces appetite, which can make it easy to eat too little. If you're losing weight too fast (more than two to three lbs per week after the initial adjustment period), try: Tracking your food intake to ensure you're eating enough calories (apps like MyFitnessPal can help). Increasing protein intake to preserve muscle mass (aim for 0.6–1g per pound of body weight). Adding healthy fats and complex carbs (e.g., avocados, nuts, whole grains) for balanced energy. Adjust Your Dosage (With Doctor's Approval) If your weight loss is too rapid or causing side effects, your doctor may: Pause dose increases or lower your dosage. Adjust your treatment plan to stabilise your weight loss. Strength Training & Exercise To prevent muscle loss: Incorporate resistance training at least two to three times per week. Stay active with low-impact exercises like walking or yoga. Hydrate & Manage Electrolytes Drink enough water (Mounjaro can reduce thirst). Electrolytes matter - Consider adding magnesium, sodium, and potassium if you feel weak or fatigued. Monitor for Malnutrition & Deficiencies Rapid weight loss can cause vitamin/mineral deficiencies (especially B12, iron, and electrolytes). If you experience: Fatigue, hair loss, or dizziness, ask your doctor about supplements. Consider Further Medical Guidance If your weight loss is excessive or causing health concerns, speak with your healthcare provider. They might adjust your dosage, diet, or exercise plan to help stabilise your weight loss.
