Face To Face Support Meetings

Venue Location

North Dublin

Venue: Hilton Hotel Malahide Road, Northern Cross, Dublin 17, D17 Y924

Times of meetings:  7.20 PM – 9.00PM

If you are a parent attending one of our meetings for the first time, please arrive at 7.15

Dates of Meetings:

3rd Wednesday of each month

 Calendar of specific dates each month for the year

Month3rd Wednesday
JanuaryJanuary 15, 2025
FebruaryFebruary 19, 2025
MarchMarch 19, 2025
AprilApril 16, 2025
MayMay 21, 2025
JuneJune 18, 2025
JulyPAUSE FOR SUMMER
AugustPAUSE FOR SUMMER
SeptemberSeptember 17, 2025
OctoberOctober 15, 2025
NovemberNovember 19, 2025
DecemberDecember 17, 2025

What to Expect at an Anam Cara Face-to-Face Support Meeting

At Anam Cara, our peer-to-peer support groups are at the core of what we do. At these meetings, you can meet other bereaved parents. At these meetings, you have the opportunity to share, ask questions, connect, or just listen. Groups are led by a bereavement or mental health professional and a volunteer parent—someone who knows the experience of losing a child. The groups meet for around an hour and a half, though if it is your first time coming to a meeting, we recommend arriving fifteen to twenty minutes early, so you can meet the facilitators, and they can learn about you and your child. The evening will centre around an open discussion where parents can share experiences or simply listen in a compassionate and non-judgmental environment. Tea and light refreshments are provided. 

Most of our groups gather in quiet and confidential meeting rooms at hotels across the island. It is the policy of Anam Cara to keep confidential all personal information about parents, siblings, and families in our service. We provide a safe space for all bereaved parents, regardless of gender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, age, disability, race, religion, or membership in the Traveller community, to share our loss and the complex emotions that surround grief.

Professional Facilitator: Bernadette Matthews

Professional facilitator, Bernadette Matthews

Bernie joined Anam Cara as a facilitator in 2018 and works as a Professional Facilitator for the North Dublin Parent Support group.

Bernie is a Clinical Supervisor and Integrative Psychotherapist & Counsellor has been working in Private Practice since 2010. Alongside her private practice she works part time as a Clinical Manager in Community based low-cost Counselling Service. During her time in private practice, she has facilitated support groups for Fibro Ireland, Arthritis Ireland. Clinical group supervision for other professionals, and counselled in a number services that offered free therapy to young people ranging in age from 12 years to 21 years.
Bernie brings her professional and life experience to help parents feel heard and held in safe & welcoming space.