During the first two weeks of “lockdown” due to Covid-19 Aisling has scaled down the usual face-to-face outreach visits and in line with government guidance is working remotely from home. The over-riding concern of Aisling is the welfare of our clients all of whom are vulnerable in some way and many were isolated and alone… Read More
About the Author
Alex McDonnel
Happy St. Paddy’s Day to Ya
Such as it is with the times that are in it we are having to have a go at the first ever non- social Paddy’s Day (our favourite pub the Sheephaven Bay in Camden has closed). Back on the ould sod ructions were flying over the hoards of drunken revellers in Temple Bar, Dublin’s pissed… Read More
Fiona Cribben
About fifteen years ago Aisling had a tiny office in the London Irish Centre in Camden Town. There was just enough room for a desk but if you wanted to sit at it you needed to keep the door open. Back then we had been getting a lot of publicity from a campaign we had… Read More
Aisling Comedy Benefit
We began to raise money for Aisling with fundraising comedy benefit gigs in London over 20 years ago and Ardal O’Hanlon was one of the first acts we booked for it (immediately after he offered to be our patron). Fr. Ted had just come out on Channel 4 and most people still didn’t know what… Read More
Xmas Greetings
I read somewhere that the early Christians used the letter X to identify themselves in early graffiti when they were members of an underground organisation outlawed by Rome and it is thought to refer to how Jesus was crucified in the shape of an X rather than a Cross (+). Citizen X, Mister X, The X Men and… Read More
Aisling Comedy Benefit
Some of you may be going ‘Great… more top comedy from the Aisling Project at their regular venue, the beautiful Union Chapel, handily located in Highbury, with easy access to all London transport links and what a line up of some of the best comedy talent from Ireland and Great Britain and a great cause… Read More
Lost and Found
Our outreach worker, John is from Ballina in Co. Mayo and goes home every year for the Moy festival and although he hasn’t drank alcohol in nearly 40 years, while he is there he goes into the local pubs to see who else is around town. Last year he got talking to someone in a… Read More
Our Minibus Is Missing
I have some bad news to pass on. Our minibus was stolen from the street behind our office. It was last seen for sure 11 days ago and was definitely gone this Monday. We’ve been hoping for a sighting or something because it is distinctive with the stickers on the side thanking Gallagher, Murphy and… Read More
The Last Pig in Ireland
A couple of days before we left London we went to clean the minibus and load up with water and soft drinks for the journey. Charlie would be making sandwiches on Friday night. At first John noticed the note placed under the windscreen wiper, then I noticed there was no wiper only a stump of… Read More
The Migrant Life
Aisling will be celebrating our 25th anniversary later this year. It is a great achievement to have kept going this long and not only are we planning to expand our service in 2019 we are as enthusiastic now as we were when we began in 1994. In the last quarter century we have worked with… Read More