Tag Archives: Rachel O’Connor

A mum at 17 just after her Leaving Cert, Rachel O’Connor spoke to Owen Ryan about her journey and featuring in a documentary on single mothers NEARLY everyone who does the Leaving Cert finds it stressful, but there are different levels of stress. Rachel O’Connor did her Leaving Cert six years ago. At the tender age of 17 she was eight months pregnant, and as stressful as that on its own would have been, it was even more difficult as she had kept her situation to herself. Other students would have felt they had plenty on their plate with theorems, formulas, French and Irish grammar, Rachel had all of that on her mind, along with the fact that she was on the brink of becoming a mother, while still a child herself. Her daughter Ella will turn six in a few weeks, and since her birth Rachel has gone on to get a degree from Mary Immaculate College and is …

Culture changing but stigma still exists, says director A SHORT documentary entitled Deliver, looking at the perception and reality of being a young mother in Ireland today will be screened online by glór as part of the Lasta Festival. It was made by Leah Moore, and focuses on two young women who became mothers in their teenage years, while taking a stylised exploration of women’s experiences throughout previous decades. The two women are Rachel O’Connor from Doora and Lauren Byrne from Dublin. “Basically it’s a documentary about the perception of young mothers in Ireland today and how our past has kind of shaped that perception, and trying to break down stigma around being a young mother. “That’s kind of the premise and the goal of the documentary,” said Leah. Both Rachel and Lauren are in their twenties now, having become mothers while still teenagers. In previous generations becoming a mother at such an early stage of life would have been …