Latest news with #Briege
Sunday World
3 days ago
- Health
- Sunday World
‘I'm not waiting anymore' – The woman behind Ireland's first period shop
Belfast theatre producer Briege Lynch is on a mission to provide women with the quality menstrual products and services they deserve. Briege Lynch wants to change the world, one period at a time. She's stepping back from a career as a theatre producer to open the UK and Ireland's first Period Shop in Belfast. Campaigning Briege plans to focus on products, education and women's wellness including life-changing conditions like endometriosis and PCOS. She's holding a Big Variety Fundraiser later this month as well as launching a GoFundMe campaign, with plans to open a city centre store by Christmas. Belfast theatre producer Briege Lynch News in 90 Seconds - August 14th 'I'm a staunch feminist with no shame,' says Briege. 'My theme at the moment is getting 4,000 people to donate a fiver, and if I have to rap every door in Belfast I'll do it. 'I've been listening to women talking about womb-related conditions and waiting on government to help them, and I'm not waiting anymore.' The 36-year-old is leaving her producer role in GBL Productions, set up by her playwright father Martin, to follow her dream. She's been fired up by the dire lack of research into potentially devastating womb-related conditions for which women can wait between seven and 14 years for a diagnosis. One Italian research paper in 2013 into endometriosis, when tissue similar to the uterine lining grows outside the womb, evaluated the attractiveness of women with the crippling condition. It was only withdrawn from medical journal Fertility and Sterility in 2020 after seven years of protest. A study published just last year about period products found worrying levels of toxic ingredients, including arsenic, lead and cadmium in tampons. In separate research toxic levels of a pesticide linked to cancer have also been found in some tampons at levels 40 times higher than the legal limit for drinking water, while PFAs – known as 'forever chemicals' – have been found in some brands of sanitary towels. Campaigner Briege Lynch 'We are hearing now there are products full of toxic stuff we should not be putting in our bodies,' says Briege. 'People say 'go to Boots' but we don't know what's on offer to us because that's all that's being offered to us. 'I want the Period Shop to be the good stuff, the luxury, made-for-you shop with period pants, moon cups, lots of different sizes and varieties for different shapes and flows. 'I want products that are disposable and reusable. 'I think periods are to be celebrated, and let's give us products that are good for us.' Briege, mum to 15-year-old daughter Lana, also wants the Period Shop to be a women's wellness hub, in which trans people are welcome, offering encouragement to female entrepreneurs, as well as hosting experts on women's health conditions, highlighting period poverty and engaging with schools. 'I read recently about a schoolgirl here who has launched period packs. I'd love to do 'My First Period' packs for dads who want to be involved but don't really know what to do, or a pack for a friend who's been diagnosed with endometriosis or PCOS.' She says any profits will be ploughed back into the business, and campaigning against the banishment of menstruating women in countries including India and Nepal to period huts. In 2023 a teenage girl in Nepal died from a snakebite in an isolated hut, and in 2019 a mother and her two children died from smoke inhalation when she lit a fire in a period hut in bitterly cold conditions. 'My dream is big and when this shop is a success in Belfast and Dublin or Manchester we'll make enough money to fix things for those women. I don't understand people who have money and don't fix things,' says Briege. 'We'll provide education or get them products or give them huts which are so good they can't wait for their periods to come.' The campaigner believes such stigma often stems from religious beliefs and misogyny. 'If it wasn't for women having periods the world wouldn't exist,' she says. 'I don't think we should have the shame or stigma where girls are hiding the rustling of their pads. 'There has been progress but we're still behind the times when we don't have a period shop.' Briege has enlisted the help of local government advice group Go Succeed to write a business plan and estimates £20,000 (€23,000) will get the venture started. After years toiling behind the scenes in theatres she'll miss working with Belfast icons like Diona Doherty and Kerri Quinn, but says it's time to pursue her passion. 'I love women and I'm determined to make them love themselves and celebrate all the natural things we're told are horrible,' says Briege. The Big Variety Fundraiser for the Period Shop Fund is at the Europa Hotel in Belfast on Friday August 29 with tickets available from TicketSource. The link to Briege's GoFundMe is
Sunday World
3 days ago
- Health
- Sunday World
‘I'm not waiting anymore' – The Irishwoman behind Ireland's first period shop
Belfast theatre producer Briege Lynch is on a mission to provide women with the quality menstrual products and services they deserve. Briege Lynch wants to change the world, one period at a time. She's stepping back from a career as a theatre producer to open the UK and Ireland's first Period Shop in Belfast. Campaigning Briege plans to focus on products, education and women's wellness including life-changing conditions like endometriosis and PCOS. She's holding a Big Variety Fundraiser later this month as well as launching a GoFundMe campaign, with plans to open a city centre store by Christmas. Belfast theatre producer Briege Lynch News in 90 Seconds - August 14th 'I'm a staunch feminist with no shame,' says Briege. 'My theme at the moment is getting 4,000 people to donate a fiver, and if I have to rap every door in Belfast I'll do it. 'I've been listening to women talking about womb-related conditions and waiting on government to help them, and I'm not waiting anymore.' The 36-year-old is leaving her producer role in GBL Productions, set up by her playwright father Martin, to follow her dream. She's been fired up by the dire lack of research into potentially devastating womb-related conditions for which women can wait between seven and 14 years for a diagnosis. One Italian research paper in 2013 into endometriosis, when tissue similar to the uterine lining grows outside the womb, evaluated the attractiveness of women with the crippling condition. It was only withdrawn from medical journal Fertility and Sterility in 2020 after seven years of protest. A study published just last year about period products found worrying levels of toxic ingredients, including arsenic, lead and cadmium in tampons. In separate research toxic levels of a pesticide linked to cancer have also been found in some tampons at levels 40 times higher than the legal limit for drinking water, while PFAs – known as 'forever chemicals' – have been found in some brands of sanitary towels. Campaigner Briege Lynch 'We are hearing now there are products full of toxic stuff we should not be putting in our bodies,' says Briege. 'People say 'go to Boots' but we don't know what's on offer to us because that's all that's being offered to us. 'I want the Period Shop to be the good stuff, the luxury, made-for-you shop with period pants, moon cups, lots of different sizes and varieties for different shapes and flows. 'I want products that are disposable and reusable. 'I think periods are to be celebrated, and let's give us products that are good for us.' Briege, mum to 15-year-old daughter Lana, also wants the Period Shop to be a women's wellness hub, in which trans people are welcome, offering encouragement to female entrepreneurs, as well as hosting experts on women's health conditions, highlighting period poverty and engaging with schools. 'I read recently about a schoolgirl here who has launched period packs. I'd love to do 'My First Period' packs for dads who want to be involved but don't really know what to do, or a pack for a friend who's been diagnosed with endometriosis or PCOS.' She says any profits will be ploughed back into the business, and campaigning against the banishment of menstruating women in countries including India and Nepal to period huts. In 2023 a teenage girl in Nepal died from a snakebite in an isolated hut, and in 2019 a mother and her two children died from smoke inhalation when she lit a fire in a period hut in bitterly cold conditions. 'My dream is big and when this shop is a success in Belfast and Dublin or Manchester we'll make enough money to fix things for those women. I don't understand people who have money and don't fix things,' says Briege. 'We'll provide education or get them products or give them huts which are so good they can't wait for their periods to come.' The campaigner believes such stigma often stems from religious beliefs and misogyny. 'If it wasn't for women having periods the world wouldn't exist,' she says. 'I don't think we should have the shame or stigma where girls are hiding the rustling of their pads. 'There has been progress but we're still behind the times when we don't have a period shop.' Briege has enlisted the help of local government advice group Go Succeed to write a business plan and estimates £20,000 (€23,000) will get the venture started. After years toiling behind the scenes in theatres she'll miss working with Belfast icons like Diona Doherty and Kerri Quinn, but says it's time to pursue her passion. 'I love women and I'm determined to make them love themselves and celebrate all the natural things we're told are horrible,' says Briege. The Big Variety Fundraiser for the Period Shop Fund is at the Europa Hotel in Belfast on Friday August 29 with tickets available from TicketSource. The link to Briege's GoFundMe is
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Speed limits on some Irish rural roads reduced
Speed limits on some roads in the Republic of Ireland will be reduced from 80km/h (50mph) to 60km/h (37mph) on Friday. This change impacts small "rural local roads", with further reductions to other roads to be implemented later in 2025. Plans include reducing limits on national secondary roads, such as dual carriageways, from 100km/h (62mph) to 80km/h (50mph) and on urban roads from 50km/h (31mph) to 30km/h (18mph). The plans follow recommendations made in a review commissioned by the Irish government's Department of Transport in 2023. The policy background says that an increase in fatalities and serious injuries recently has sparked the need for lower speed limits. The government said statistics show road deaths before 2021 had been falling since 2006, when there were 365 fatalities on the roads However, following this there were two successive years of increase where fatalities rose from 132 in 2021 to 180 in 2023. An Garda Síochána (Irish police force) said it would "work with local authorities to ensure these changes are enforced". "Public-awareness campaigns will be launched to educate drivers about the new limits and the importance of adhering to them," it said. The police service added that measures to "achieve compliance" include "vehicle-mounted and handheld speed-detection equipment, and safety-camera vans". Heading south from Newry in County Down, Omeath is the first village south of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, on the shores of Carlingford Lough. Many visitors and locals were unaware of the speed limit changes. On some of the local routes in and out of the village, new signs have been erected with the new 60km/h (37mph) limit. William Lane, from Dromore in County Down, is a regular visitor to the Cooley Peninsula but says he didn't know about the changes. "I can understand why," he said as he enjoyed a coffee outside Café Rosa. "They did employ a 20mph speed limit in Wales. Time will tell." Aisling O'Hanlon, who owns a hairdressing salon in the village, said many locals were also unaware. "I didn't know this was happening," she said. "I don't think people really drive too fast. I think we all stick to the speed limit but that could be a problem now if nobody knows – that's going to be the problem." Customer Briege Rice said: "They are small roads. They are a bit windy so you couldn't drive fast on them. "I don't think it will make much of a difference because I think people are genuinely careful." But across the street in the café at the Grand Central Hotel customers give a different view. Kathleen Elmore said: "I don't think you could reduce speed limits quickly enough. "We have a school and a church and there are lights but a lot of people don't honour them. "There's always someone quicker than you who wants to get here, there, wherever – slow down." Briege and James Dunne agree. "I think it's a good idea," said Briege. "There are people going too fast, everywhere on all the roads we are on. Some will listen but a lot won't." The Welsh government introduced similar measures in 2023, reducing the default urban speed limit to 20mph. The latest casualty data for the first year of the new speed limit in Wales showed there were 100 fewer people killed or seriously injured on 20 and 30mph roads, a fall of 28%. That data has been welcomed by Welsh ministers, but the Welsh conservatives say the policy remains confusing and frustrating for many motorists. The scheme has proved to be one of the Welsh government's most controversial initiatives since devolution began, and almost half a million people signed a petition calling for it to be scrapped. Cross-border operation aims to tackle road deaths Thousands give feedback over 20mph road changes
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Speed limits on some Irish rural roads reduced
Speed limits on some roads in the Republic of Ireland will be reduced from 80km/h (50mph) to 60km/h (37mph) on Friday. This change impacts small "rural local roads", with further reductions to other roads to be implemented later in 2025. Plans include reducing limits on national secondary roads, such as dual carriageways, from 100km/h (62mph) to 80km/h (50mph) and on urban roads from 50km/h (31mph) to 30km/h (18mph). The plans follow recommendations made in a review commissioned by the Irish government's Department of Transport in 2023. The policy background says that an increase in fatalities and serious injuries recently has sparked the need for lower speed limits. The government said statistics show road deaths before 2021 had been falling since 2006, when there were 365 fatalities on the roads However, following this there were two successive years of increase where fatalities rose from 132 in 2021 to 180 in 2023. An Garda Síochána (Irish police force) said it would "work with local authorities to ensure these changes are enforced". "Public-awareness campaigns will be launched to educate drivers about the new limits and the importance of adhering to them," it said. The police service added that measures to "achieve compliance" include "vehicle-mounted and handheld speed-detection equipment, and safety-camera vans". Heading south from Newry in County Down, Omeath is the first village south of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, on the shores of Carlingford Lough. Many visitors and locals were unaware of the speed limit changes. On some of the local routes in and out of the village, new signs have been erected with the new 60km/h (37mph) limit. William Lane, from Dromore in County Down, is a regular visitor to the Cooley Peninsula but says he didn't know about the changes. "I can understand why," he said as he enjoyed a coffee outside Café Rosa. "They did employ a 20mph speed limit in Wales. Time will tell." Aisling O'Hanlon, who owns a hairdressing salon in the village, said many locals were also unaware. "I didn't know this was happening," she said. "I don't think people really drive too fast. I think we all stick to the speed limit but that could be a problem now if nobody knows – that's going to be the problem." Customer Briege Rice said: "They are small roads. They are a bit windy so you couldn't drive fast on them. "I don't think it will make much of a difference because I think people are genuinely careful." But across the street in the café at the Grand Central Hotel customers give a different view. Kathleen Elmore said: "I don't think you could reduce speed limits quickly enough. "We have a school and a church and there are lights but a lot of people don't honour them. "There's always someone quicker than you who wants to get here, there, wherever – slow down." Briege and James Dunne agree. "I think it's a good idea," said Briege. "There are people going too fast, everywhere on all the roads we are on. Some will listen but a lot won't." The Welsh government introduced similar measures in 2023, reducing the default urban speed limit to 20mph. The latest casualty data for the first year of the new speed limit in Wales showed there were 100 fewer people killed or seriously injured on 20 and 30mph roads, a fall of 28%. That data has been welcomed by Welsh ministers, but the Welsh conservatives say the policy remains confusing and frustrating for many motorists. The scheme has proved to be one of the Welsh government's most controversial initiatives since devolution began, and almost half a million people signed a petition calling for it to be scrapped. Cross-border operation aims to tackle road deaths Thousands give feedback over 20mph road changes
BBC News
07-02-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Speed Limits: Republic of Ireland reduces limits on some roads
Speed limits on some roads in the Republic of Ireland will be reduced from 80km/h (50mph) to 60km/h (37mph) on Friday. This change impacts small "rural local roads", with further reductions to other roads to be implemented later in 2025. Plans include reducing limits on national secondary roads, such as dual carriageways, from 100km/h (62mph) to 80km/h (50mph) and on urban roads from 50km/h (31mph) to 30km/h (18mph).The plans follow recommendations made in a review commissioned by the Irish government's Department of Transport in 2023. The policy background says that an increase in fatalities and serious injuries recently has sparked the need for lower speed limits. The government said statistics show road deaths before 2021 had been falling since 2006, when there were 365 fatalities on the roadsHowever, following this there were two successive years of increase where fatalities rose from 132 in 2021 to 180 in 2023. An Garda Síochána (Irish police force) said it would "work with local authorities to ensure these changes are enforced". "Public-awareness campaigns will be launched to educate drivers about the new limits and the importance of adhering to them," it said. The police service added that measures to "achieve compliance" include "vehicle-mounted and handheld speed-detection equipment, and safety-camera vans". Many unaware of changes Heading south from Newry in County Down, Omeath is the first village south of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, on the shores of Carlingford visitors and locals were unaware of the speed limit some of the local routes in and out of the village, new signs have been erected with the new 60km/h (37mph) limit. William Lane, from Dromore in County Down, is a regular visitor to the Cooley Peninsula but says he didn't know about the changes."I can understand why," he said as he enjoyed a coffee outside Café Rosa. "They did employ a 20mph speed limit in Wales. Time will tell."Aisling O'Hanlon, who owns a hairdressing salon in the village, said many locals were also unaware."I didn't know this was happening," she said. "I don't think people really drive too fast. I think we all stick to the speed limit but that could be a problem now if nobody knows – that's going to be the problem." Customer Briege Rice said: "They are small roads. They are a bit windy so you couldn't drive fast on them."I don't think it will make much of a difference because I think people are genuinely careful."But across the street in the café at the Grand Central Hotel customers give a different Elmore said: "I don't think you could reduce speed limits quickly enough."We have a school and a church and there are lights but a lot of people don't honour them."There's always someone quicker than you who wants to get here, there, wherever – slow down."Briege and James Dunne agree."I think it's a good idea," said Briege. "There are people going too fast, everywhere on all the roads we are on. Some will listen but a lot won't." Similar changes in Wales The Welsh government introduced similar measures in 2023, reducing the default urban speed limit to 20mph. The latest casualty data for the first year of the new speed limit in Wales showed there were 100 fewer people killed or seriously injured on 20 and 30mph roads, a fall of 28%.That data has been welcomed by Welsh ministers, but the Welsh conservatives say the policy remains confusing and frustrating for many motorists. The scheme has proved to be one of the Welsh government's most controversial initiatives since devolution began, and almost half a million people signed a petition calling for it to be scrapped.
