Accord - Better Relationships, Happier Lives

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Accord - Better Relationships, Happier Lives Ireland’s leading island-wide agency supporting marriage and relationships for over 60 years.

ACCORD supports couples and families by providing Relationship Counselling, Marriage Preparation Programmes and Relationships programmes for Primary Schools. We offer services that include:
-Marriage & Relationship Counselling
-Marriage Preparation Courses
-Marital Sexual Therapy
-Fertility & Wellbeing Service
-Schools Programmes

Is there a “right time” for couple therapy? ❤️Many people assume couple therapy is only for couples who are in serious d...
20/10/2026

Is there a “right time” for couple therapy? ❤️

Many people assume couple therapy is only for couples who are in serious difficulty. But sometimes, the best time to get support is before things reach crisis point. Relationships go through different seasons. You might be:

🏡 Building a life together and learning how to communicate
👶 Adjusting to parenting and trying to find time for each other
💼 Managing work, money and the pressures of everyday life
❤️ Feeling more like housemates than partners
🌱 Reconnecting after a difficult period
🕰️ Entering a new chapter after the children have left home or retirement

You don't have to be falling apart to benefit from talking to someone.

There is no perfect time to look after your relationship. Sometimes, one good conversation can be the beginning of a different chapter.

Read our latest blog: Is There a Right Time for Couple Therapy?

👉 Read more at accord.ie

💙 Navigating Marriage in Ireland TodayBuilding a life together is exciting — but for many couples in Ireland, it also co...
19/10/2026

💙 Navigating Marriage in Ireland Today

Building a life together is exciting — but for many couples in Ireland, it also comes with real pressures.

🏡 Finding an affordable home and managing housing costs
💶 Balancing bills, debt, savings and financial stress
👶 Navigating fertility challenges, pregnancy and the transition to parenthood
❤️ Protecting intimacy and connection amid busy lives and competing demands
👨‍👩‍👧 Managing in-laws, family expectations and boundaries
⚖️ Sharing childcare, household responsibilities and the mental load
📱 Making time for each other in a world of screens, social media and AI

These pressures can put strain on even the strongest relationships. The key is learning how to face them as a team — through honest conversations, mutual understanding and making time for each other.

At Accord, we believe relationship support shouldn't begin only when things go wrong. The first few years are an opportunity to build strong foundations for the years ahead.

💬 What do you think is the biggest challenge facing couples starting married life in Ireland today?

Read our latest blog for practical advice on building a strong relationship together at www.accord.ie

When addiction affects a relationship, both partners can be affected. ❤️Whether it involves alcohol, drugs, gambling, po...
06/10/2026

When addiction affects a relationship, both partners can be affected. ❤️

Whether it involves alcohol, drugs, gambling, po*******hy, gaming or another compulsive behaviour, addiction can change the dynamics of a relationship.

Trust can be damaged. Communication can break down. Arguments can become more frequent, while both partners may feel hurt, anxious, angry, ashamed or exhausted.

But addiction does not necessarily mean the end of a relationship. With the right support, couples can begin to:

💬 Talk about what is happening without blame
🤝 Rebuild trust through honesty and consistent actions
🛑 Establish healthy boundaries
❤️ Reconnect as a couple
🌱 Get the individual support each partner may need

One important thing to remember is that one partner cannot recover on behalf of the other. Supporting someone with an addiction does not mean accepting behaviour that is harmful to you or your family.

If addiction is affecting your relationship, you don't have to navigate it alone.

Read our latest article: When Addiction Affects Your Relationship: How Couples Can Find a Way Forward — on the Accord blog at accord.ie

When family becomes a source of tension in your relationship… ❤️‍🩹Loving your partner doesn’t always mean loving every a...
05/10/2026

When family becomes a source of tension in your relationship… ❤️‍🩹

Loving your partner doesn’t always mean loving every aspect of their family relationships.

Extended family can bring love, support and connection — but it can also create challenges for couples.

Who do you spend Christmas with?
How often should you visit each family?
How involved should grandparents be?
What happens when family members give unwanted advice?
And what do you do when you feel your partner isn’t supporting you?

The key isn't always about deciding who is right.
It’s about learning how to work as a team.

Healthy relationships with extended family often involve:
❤️ talking openly about expectations
❤️ setting respectful boundaries
❤️ listening to your partner’s experience
❤️ supporting each other when difficulties arise
❤️ remembering that you are partners, even when family relationships are complicated

You may not be able to change your extended family — but you can work together on how you respond to family pressures.

Read our latest blog: “Managing Extended Family Relationships as a Couple” for practical advice on communication, boundaries and protecting your relationship.

👉 Read more on the Accord blog at accord.ie

10 conversations to have before you get married…Planning a wedding is exciting. But preparing for your marriage matters ...
24/09/2026

10 conversations to have before you get married…

Planning a wedding is exciting. But preparing for your marriage matters too. ❤️

Have you talked about:

1️⃣ 💰 Money and finances
2️⃣ 👶 Children and parenting
3️⃣ 💬 How you'll handle conflict
4️⃣ 🏡 Sharing responsibilities
5️⃣ 👨‍👩‍👧 Family and boundaries
6️⃣ ❤️ Emotional connection
7️⃣ ❤️‍🔥 Intimacy and affection
8️⃣ 🙏 Faith and values
9️⃣ 🌱 Your hopes for the future
🔟 🤝 How you'll support each other through difficult times

You might not agree on everything – and that's okay.

A strong relationship isn't about having all the same answers. It's about being able to have the conversations.

Preparing for marriage is about more than preparing for one day. It's about preparing for the life you'll build together.

💍 Read our latest blog: 10 Conversations Every Couple Should Have Before Getting Married

When you're caring for a foster child, it's easy to forget to care for your relationship too. ❤️Fostering can bring love...
24/09/2026

When you're caring for a foster child, it's easy to forget to care for your relationship too. ❤️

Fostering can bring love, connection and wonderful moments – but it can also bring challenges for couples.

You might find yourselves:

💬 Disagreeing about parenting or boundaries
💭 Feeling exhausted or overwhelmed
❤️‍🩹 Having less time for each other
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Worrying about the impact on other children
💔 Experiencing attachment and loss in different ways

Sometimes, couples care deeply about the same child but see things differently.
That doesn't mean you're on opposite sides.
It can mean you're both trying to protect the family in different ways.

Making space for your relationship, checking in with each other and talking about what's happening between you can help you stay connected as a couple.

And sometimes, couples need support too.

Our latest article explores fostering and relationships, including common challenges for foster carers and how couple therapy can help.

👉 Read the full article on our website.

We're on Instagram – and we're bringing more relationship conversations with us. ❤️If you're interested in relationships...
22/09/2026

We're on Instagram – and we're bringing more relationship conversations with us. ❤️

If you're interested in relationships, communication, family life and building stronger connections, come and join us on Instagram.

Over the coming weeks we'll be sharing:

💬 Practical relationship advice
❤️ Insights from Accord counsellors
🧠 Short videos about common relationship challenges
👫 Conversations about relationships at every stage of life
📚 Helpful resources and advice from Accord

We're going to be talking about the things couples and families often find difficult to talk about – from communication and conflict to parenting, intimacy, trust and life changes.

Follow on Instagram and join the conversation.

👉

If you're already following us, tag someone who might find our relationship content useful. ❤️

💙 Grieving together,how loss can affect a couple relationshipWhen one person is grieving, it can sometimes feel as thoug...
22/09/2026

💙 Grieving together,how loss can affect a couple relationship

When one person is grieving, it can sometimes feel as though the whole relationship has changed.

You may both be affected by a loss – but you may experience it very differently.

One of you may need to talk about what happened, while the other doesn't know what to say.

One may need closeness and reassurance, while the other thinks giving space is the best way to help.

And sometimes, when one partner has experienced a loss that the other hasn't, the grieving partner may feel:

“You don't understand what this feels like.”

While the other may be thinking:

“I want to help, but I don't know how.”

Neither person is necessarily doing anything wrong. Grief is deeply personal, and there is no single way to grieve.

Couples therapy can provide a safe space to explore these differences, understand what is happening between you and find ways to support each other – without expecting you to grieve in the same way.

❤️ You can grieve differently and still stay connected.

Read our latest blog: “Grieving Together, But Differently: How Loss Can Affect a Couple Relationship” at accord.ie

What does emotional closeness really mean?Being emotionally close to your partner isn’t just about spending time togethe...
21/09/2026

What does emotional closeness really mean?

Being emotionally close to your partner isn’t just about spending time together or sharing the same home.

It’s about feeling seen, valued, understood and important to the person you love.

Sometimes emotional distance happens quietly. Life gets busy. Work, children, responsibilities and phones can gradually take up more of our attention — and our relationship can slip further down the list.

You might still love each other deeply, but find that you’re mostly talking about practical things rather than each other.

So, when did you last really connect?

💬 Asked your partner how they’re really doing?
👂 Listened without immediately trying to solve the problem?
📱 Put your phone down and given them your full attention?
🤝 Reached for their hand?
❤️ Told them something you appreciate about them?
😊 Shared a joke that only the two of you understand?

These small moments matter.

Emotional closeness is built in the ordinary, everyday moments when we show our partner: “You matter to me.”

And when couples lose that sense of connection, it can sometimes be difficult to find their way back without support. Couple therapy can provide a safe space to understand patterns, communicate differently and reconnect.

You don’t have to wait until your relationship is at breaking point to ask for help.

👉 Read our full blog, “What is Emotional Closeness and Does It Matter?” in the Blog section of our website at www.accord.ie

Better relationships. Happier lives.

💍 Getting married? Give your relationship the best possible start. ❤️Preparing for marriage is about more than planning ...
21/09/2026

💍 Getting married? Give your relationship the best possible start. ❤️

Preparing for marriage is about more than planning the big day. It’s an opportunity to pause, talk about your future together and build a strong foundation for your life as a couple.

Accord’s Marriage Preparation Programme gives engaged couples space to explore important areas of married life, including communication, expectations, managing differences and building a strong and lasting relationship.

📍 Waterford – St. John’s Pastoral Centre
John’s Hill, Waterford, X91 HW9D

📅 Friday 16 October | 6pm–9pm
📅 Saturday 17 October | 9am–3pm

📞 Book or find out more: 051 878333
📧 [email protected]

Accord – Better Relationships. Happier Lives.

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Central Office, Columba Centre
Naas
CO.KILDARE

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