Mayo Rape Crisis Centre

01/09/2026

Mayo R**e Crisis Centre is delighted to expand our service with the addition of Part-time Adolescent Counsellor, John McNamara.

This role strengthens our capacity to provide specialist ther**eutic support and care to young people in Mayo who have experienced s*xual violence.

01/09/2026

We are accepting applications for our Specialist Sexual Violence Training for Counsellors until Monday 7th September - with the course running two days a month in the Clayton Hotel, Sligo from October 2026 to June 2027.

This specialist qualification builds on generic counselling training, giving counsellors and psychotherapists the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to support people affected by .

The feedback from graduates of our 2025-2026 training has been overwhelmingly positive, with many speaking of how the course deepened their confidence and practice in working with survivors of s*xual violence.

Topics include the dynamics of s*xual violence, adult r**e and s*xual assault, child s*xual abuse, male r**e, po*******hy and perpetrators, counselling practice, body work, and intersectionality.

Rooted in the **eCrisis model - which situates s*xual violence in context and treats trauma as political as much as personal - the training prepares qualified practitioners to help survivors navigate complex societal and cultural barriers in a way that empowers.

Our trainers - Vera O Leary and Ruth MacNeely - are among the most experienced practitioners in the movement in Ireland.

See our website for full details and application form >> https://www.r**ecrisisireland.ie/specialist-s*xual-violence-training-for-counsellors-applications-open/

With thanks to Community Foundation Ireland for funding support to deliver this training in 2026–2027.

27/08/2026

A prominent Swiss politician is alleged to have repeatedly drugged and r**ed an Irish teenager and her mother.

Prosecutors say Patrick Frei (57) recorded the incidents which allegedly occurred while Paula – 14 at the time – and her mother Iwona were living with him in the Swiss town of Untersiggenthal.

27/08/2026

The Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Jim O’Callaghan TD, has published a draft of this national strategy – An Enabling Framework for Community Safety 2026-2028.
This draft document can be accessed here: https://assets.gov.ie/.../An_Enabling_Framework_for...
Further information on this process, including how to make a submission is available here: https://www.gov.ie/.../national-strategy-for-the.../
The submission process is open until 5pm Friday 11 September 2026.
Queries in relation to the National Strategy for Improving Community Safety should be directed to [email protected].

28/07/2026

27/07/2026

20/07/2026

We welcome the news that a new Oireachtas Special Committee on Preventing and Responding to Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence is to be established, beginning its work this autumn.
With our member R**e Crisis Centres receiving 15,134 helpline contacts (calls and texts) last year - an increase of 15.4% from 2024 - much more needs to be done to stem the tide of in Ireland.
This follows the Joint Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration's report earlier this month, which set out 26 recommendations for strengthening Ireland's response to - including reform of the in-camera rule, expanded refuge accommodation, and enhanced trauma-informed training across the judiciary, legal professions and An Garda Síochána.
A dedicated committee gives this work the sustained and holistic political attention it demands. Ad hoc and stop gap solutions to gaps as they emerge must give way to a joined up response and transparency that sees DSGBV for what it is - a systemic problem.
We hope the Committee will pay attention, in particular, to the deficits in independent oversight and transparency in how DSGBV is being addressed.
Survivors and advocates have engaged with this process in good faith, and we will be watching closely to ensure recommendations are matched by resourcing and delivery.
Read more in TheJournal.ie >> https://www.thejournal.ie/oireachtas-committee-on.../
**eCrisis

The new committee, which replaces the committee on drugs, will have a two-year remit.

20/07/2026

“For a long time, I thought silence was how you survived. I know now that silence only protects the past.”
Paddy Comyn is our resident car expert, who writes a column for The Journal every Saturday and Monday. This week, a non-motoring news story impacted him on a personal level as the government announced an inquiry into one of the country’s most prolific child s*x offenders.
Today, he writes about how he was abused by Michael Shine when he was a boy.
Mayo R**e Crisis Centre Freephone number is 1800 234 900
National 24 Hour Freephone number is 1800 778 888

“For a long time, I thought silence was how you survived. I know now that silence only protects the past.”

Paddy Comyn is our resident car expert, who writes a column for The Journal every Saturday and Monday. This week, a non-motoring news story impacted him on a personal level as the government announced an inquiry into one of the country’s most prolific child s*x offenders.

Today, he writes about how he was abused by Michael Shine when he was a boy.

jrnl.ie/7105714

15/07/2026

The government is set to approve plans to introduce new criminal offences targeting the possession, production and distribution of extreme or violent po*******hy, as well as creating a standalone offence covering acts of necrophilia

Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan says extreme po*******hy is harming young people as campaigners urge legislation to reflect the reality of mainstream online content.

14/07/2026

A report by the Courts Service also found that over 50% of the 444 sentences handed down for r**e or attempted r**e last year were for 10 years or more.
A number of other offences also increased, including drugs, public order, assault, fraud and robbery

Over 27,000 new domestic violence applications were also received by the District Court in 2025.