Parkinson’s Awareness Week & Online Education Conference Recording

Parkinson’s Awareness Week took place from the 8th to the 14th of April 2024.

We held our Online Education Conference on Saturday, the 13th of April at 2pm.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Annmarie O’Connor who was our conference chair and our guest speakers, who all gave excellent talks with a wealth of important information.

If you missed the conference on Saturday, the recording is available here.

We have further information about all the guest speakers from the conference below:

Conference Chair: Annmarie O’Connor

We are delighted to announce Annmarie O’Connor as our Virtual Educational Conference Chair.

Annmarie is the Irish Examiner fashion editor, a podcaster and bestselling author.

She was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s Disease in 2021 and now uses her platform to spread awareness.

She won the Catalyst award at Irish Tatler’s Women of the Year 2023 and has been featured by the Irish Examiner as one of 100 Women in Ireland Blazing a Trail, 2023.

Parkinson’s Nurse Specialist Kathy Foley

Our PD Nurse Specialist Kathy Foley will be giving a talk on the 40+ PD symptoms at our Virtual Education Conference on April 13th.

Kathy began her nursing journey in 2003, but found her true passion in nursing in 2009 when she was given the opportunity to train as a nurse specialist for one of the advanced therapies for Parkinson’s Disease.

Kathy spent 11 years working as nurse specialist in this area as part of a nationwide team before joining Parkinson’s Ireland in October 2023.

Professor Iracema Leroi

Professor Iracema Leroi will give a talk on Mind and Movement – unravelling the cognitive and emotional aspects of Parkinson’s at our Online Conference on April 13th.

Iracema Leroi is a Professor in Geriatric Psychiatry and a consultant geriatric psychiatrist at St James’ Hospital, Dublin. She leads HRB-CTN Dementia Trials Ireland network, along with a 4-year HRB-funded program grant, EMERALD Lewy, which aims to improve the diagnosis and care for people with Ley body dementias.

She has a particular interest in the mental health aspects of Lewy body diseases.

Professor Graham Hughes

Professor Graham Hughes is a consultant physician in geriatric and general medicine working in a Dublin teaching hospital. Graham is an Associate Professor in Clinical Medicine, UCD.

He has particular interests in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and integration of older people’s care across service interfaces.

Professor Hughes will give a PD Update during his talk at our Online Conference.

Dietician Richelle Flanagan

Our dietician Richelle will discuss eating well to feel well with Parkinson’s.

Richelle is a CORU registered dietitian practicing for over 18 years. She is an ambassador for the World Parkinson Congress and a committee member of the Dublin branch of the Parkinson’s Ireland.

She is particularly passionate about the unmet needs of women with PD. Richelle is co-founder of Women’s Parkinson’s project, a global platform to raise voices for better treatment & research for WWP.

Richelle is the co-founder and CEO of a start-up, My Moves Matter a digital health app to meet the specific needs of women living with PD.

Occupational Therapist Marion Slattery

Occupational Therapist Marion Slattery will discuss ‘Daily Health Habits: Small Tips for Big Changes’.

Marion graduated with a B.Sc. in Occupational Therapy from N.U.I. Galway.

She has a special interest in working with people with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and is certified in the PD Warrior™ programme, which is a highly effective exercise programme aimed to slow down the symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease.

Marion is also certified in the LSVT BIG, Parkinson’s specific programme. Marion works online with people all across the country, and in-person in Personal Health, Rathmines, Co. Dublin.

Marion is a current member of the Association of Occupational Therapist’s Ireland (AOTI) and registered with CORU.

Speech and Language Therapist Joanne Reilly

Speech and Language Therapist Joanne Reilly will discuss being ‘Stronger and Better Together’ at our conference on April 13th. Her talk will focus on acknowledging the difficulty of Moving and Communicating in Mazes, towards creating more accessible links for People with PD and others.

Joanne has a BSc in Speech and Language Therapy from the University of Ulster, with previous experience in care of the elderly and childcare gained in the UK.

Joanne is a Dual Clinician in both Pediatrics and Adults, and a Voice Clinician and has a specialist interest in pediatric stammering, anxiety, and dementia. She is interested in progressive neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Systems Atrophy and Motor Neuron disease.

Joanne is especially interested in learning from the individual story and the journey, in relation to the psychosocial impacts, community barriers, need for awareness raising and in advocacy work.

Along with colleagues, Joanne is working on improving their Parkinson’s interventions and Service, in refining group treatment approaches using co design and creativity.

Weekly Classes for members

Parkinson’s Ireland are proud to offer many services for our members, including our nurse helpline service and weekly zoom classes which include singing, mindfulness, wellness, nurse clinic, yoga and physio.

You can find all the details of our classes here.