The harrowing experiences of women with endometriosis were shared at a public meeting in Donegal this week.
The chronic disease affects one in ten women in Ireland, yet there is a serious lack of awareness, leading to severe delays in diagnosis.
On Thursday, Sinn Féin Senator Maria McCormack from Laois brought the first of her regional gatherings to Ballybofey to hear local women’s stories. Donegal Councillor Dakota Nic Mheanman, Deputy Pearse Doherty and local advocate Kathleen King also spoke.
The event explored the lack of research on endometriosis in Ireland and women’s experiences of having their symptoms dismissed.
Senator Maria McCormack (third from left) pictured with Jess Ní Mhaoláin, Cllr Dakota Mhic Mheanman, Jade Quigley, Kathleen King and Aine Ni Neill at the Endometriosis Information session at the Villa Rose Hotel, Stranorlar. (North West Newspix)
Senator McCormack, who is a first responder and advocates for women’s healthcare, says she is sick of women being ignored on the issue of endometriosis.
Speaking after the meeting, Senator McCormack said: “The stories I heard along with my colleague Pearse Doherty and Dakota Nic Mheanman were heartbreaking. I can’t believe in 2025 this is where we are with women’s healthcare.
“The issue is affecting 1 in 10 but I would argue the statistics are much higher.
“Our speaker on the night, Kathleen King, a long time advocate for women suffering with Endometriosis, says it’s more like 1 in 6 women. But unfortunately we don’t even have the correct numbers because no funding has gone into research.”
Senator McCormack says the momentum is gathering.
“My aim is to listen to as many of these women as possible and create a proper framework that will create change.”
Speaking after the event, Cllr Dakota Nic Mheanman: “Fair play to every woman that shared their story with us. It’s not easy to stand up in front of a group and talk about how you have been let down by the system, how they have failed you and what they didn’t do.
“It was an amazing event for the women of Donegal and hopefully we’ll see more of this now.”
Northwest Newspix
Pearse Doherty TD, pictured with Senator Maria McCormack and Cllr Dakota Nic Mheanman (North West Newspix)
Senator Maria McCormack(North West Newspix)
