European Council of Grandmothers gathered in Dunalk

Dundalk hosted the European Council of Grandmothers last week.

Founded in 2015, the Council is composed of 14 grandmothers and elder women representing 12 European countries.

The group meets every nine months in different host nations, with the aim of reviving and sharing ancestral traditions, cultural heritage, and intergenerational wisdom with younger generations.

MaryAnne Gosling, Ireland’s representative on the Council since its inception, and a native of Dundalk, invited her fellow grandmothers to her hometown.

MaryAnne, who is also a founding member of the Dundalk Women’s Shed, enlisted the support of the Women’s Shed to act as local ‘Friends’ to the visiting Council.

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While the grandmothers held private meetings and visit local sites including St Brigid’s shrine in Faughart and Newgrange, the highlight of the visit was a two-day public gathering on Saturday and Sunday.

Dundalk Credit Union, a great supporter of community projects, offered its premises in Clanbrassil Street Dundalk (the former Houstons Store) for the meetings.

The grandmothers shared their ancient wisdom and healing presence to nurture the importance of preserving ancestral wisdom in the context of present-day knowledge, and to create matriarchs within our communities to hold this wisdom.