The Irish Heart Foundation would like to share some events and activities with you that will be coming up over the next few months.

The advocacy team will discuss Heart Failure in Ireland in Leinster House on 2nd July. The Oireachtas Heart and Stroke Group was recently established by the Irish Heart Foundation to build consensus across the political spectrum in support of a new national cardiovascular disease health policy. Building on this success, representatives of the Irish Heart Foundation will present to the Group in Leinster House on Ireland’s rapidly growing cardiac condition and the disabilities and challenges being faced by its patients.

Speakers will include Prof Emer Joyce, Dr Eamonn O’Shea, and Irish Heart Foundation Patient Champions Stephen Comerford and Teresa O’Hanlon. Topics to be discussed will include the growth of heart failure in Ireland, management of heart failure and the associated psychological, social and financial challenges.  The aim is to increase awareness of these important issues and to create a plan of action.

The Health Check Service is gearing up for a busy season of outreach, offering free health checks at several major events across Ireland. A key highlight is the 50 Plus Show in Sligo, taking place for the first time in that area. While the Foundation has previously brought its services to the region, this marks its debut at the Sligo edition of the popular lifestyle event for older adults. Visitors can avail of free blood pressure and pulse checks, along with expert advice on maintaining heart health.

In August, the health check service will attend two prominent agricultural shows: the Clonmany Agricultural Show in Donegal and the Tullamore Agricultural Show in Offaly. These events are ideal for engaging with rural communities, where awareness and access to preventative health services can be limited. The Foundation’s presence ensures that attendees receive vital health information and checks in a convenient and familiar setting.

Looking ahead to September, the Foundation will be at the National Ploughing Championships, Ireland’s largest outdoor event, and the 50 Plus Show in Cork. These gatherings attract tens of thousands of visitors and offer a powerful platform for promoting cardiovascular health. The health check service will provide free checks and raise awareness about conditions such as high blood pressure and atrial fibrillation.

One in four women dies from heart disease and stroke each year, the same as men. Yet these conditions are under-researched, under-diagnosed and under-treated in women.

This September, the Irish Heart Foundation, supported by the Department of Health and the HSE, will launch the ‘Her Heart Matters’ national awareness and behaviour change campaign to help women care for their hearts.

The good news is that 80% of premature heart disease and stroke are preventable through healthy lifestyles. Running throughout September, the campaign will focus on supporting women in taking control of their own heart health and taking action to reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease. It will provide practical information and supportive tools, developed with women, for women.

This year, a particular focus will be on supporting the Midlands counties of Laois, Offaly, Westmeath, and Longford in taking part in the campaign. A dedicated coordinator will work with local community groups to activate the campaign on the ground and share its vital messages.

We will also focus on disseminating tailored resources developed for specific groups, including Traveller women, as well as materials translated into Polish and Arabic.

Since 2022, the Irish Heart Foundation has run the ‘Her Heart Matters’ campaign, aiming to reduce the alarming number of women in Ireland living with and dying from cardiovascular disease by creating a national conversation around women’s heart health.

The Patient Support Team will be running a range of upcoming courses for patients, most of which will kick off after the summer break in September. These include Vocational Return to Work and online and in-person ACTivate Your Life (AYL) courses.

The Vocational Return to Work programme is designed to support stroke survivors in their journey back to the workplace. It offers a space for Stroke Survivors to come together, build confidence, and develop the personal and professional skills needed for returning to work. The course focuses on increasing awareness of what’s involved in re-entering employment after a stroke and equips participants with practical tools to support that transition.

The ACTivate Your Life programme is designed to support the emotional well-being of individuals affected by stroke or heart conditions. It provides participants with practical skills to manage emotional distress and navigate the psychological impact of their health recovery journey. Ten Patient Support staff members trained in May to become facilitators for the ACTivate Your Life programme, and Patient Support will be running a number of both online and in-person ACTivate Your Life courses in various locations from September.

Other courses expected to run from September include art therapy, yoga and mindfulness/self-compassion.

All courses run free of charge and are open to members of the Irish Heart Foundation Patient Network. Members can sign up or ask for more information by emailing referrals@irishheart.ie.

Upcoming Online Information Talk

Patient Support will be hosting an online talk with clinical psychologist and author Dr Malie Coyne, in September.  The talk will be on the power of self-compassion – how nurturing our soothing systems can counterbalance challenges and fears when living with a heart condition or stroke. More details to follow over the coming weeks. For more information contact; tegan@irishheart.ie

Our 10,000 Steps a Day Challenge, which will take place in September, is new to the 2025 challenge calendar.

We will be recruiting individuals, groups, and companies to take part in the challenge of walking 10,000 steps a day for the whole month of September and help raise funds and awareness for our Her Heart Matters campaign.

Registration is free and opens in August. All participants will receive a t-shirt when they sign up, and those who successfully complete the challenge will also receive a souvenir medal.

If you would like more information, just let us know!

Following the incredible success of last year’s event, our Heart Heroes Abseil Challenge will return to the Generator Tower on Smithfield Square on Saturday, November 1st.

Registration is free, but spaces are limited. Participants are asked to raise a minimum of €350 to help protect hearts in Ireland.

If you, or someone you know, would like to join our team of caped crusaders and tackle the tower, just contact Jamie

The Berlin Marathon

In other fundraising news, the BMW Berlin Marathon will take place on Saturday, September 21st, 2025, and for the very first time, we will have a team representing the Irish Heart Foundation.

All of our places are taken for this year, but if you are interested in doing the Berlin Marathon in 2026, you can register your interest now.

We’re busy celebrating the outstanding efforts of schools, students, and teachers involved in the CPR 4 Schools Programme. A total of 63 awards have been presented across 33 schools, and over the summer, we’ll be issuing local press releases across the country to share and celebrate these achievements.

We currently have two award categories that recognise the incredible work taking place in classrooms every day. The Special Recognition Award honours schools that have trained all students in CPR, showing a whole-school commitment to lifesaving education. The Heroes Award shines a light on individual students or teachers who go the extra mile to raise awareness and inspire others.

Some standout stories from this year’s recipients include:

• In Cork, St. Comans Community College set up a dedicated committee that organised the training of over 1,000 students.
• Coláiste Phádraig in Lucan established a specialised TY CPR training team. The students went above and beyond to organise and carry out the training of their peers.
• In Limerick, Demond College went all out and made a cross-curricular week of the training. They dissected hearts to learn more about the circulatory system, made Eircode awareness posters for their school, and ran a community fundraiser for the IHF.

Keep an eye out for the local press release, and if you have a connection to any of the schools, be sure to let them know how proud you are of their incredible achievement.

The school year may be over, but our school’s team will be hard at work over the summer updating resources and building on programmes for PE, active classrooms, CPR, and health literacy.

In our end-of-year survey, teachers said:

“I love the Irish Heart Foundation resources. They are colourful, very child-focused, structured and easy to follow. I have used your resources for well over 10 years. I think they are great for movement breaks, and I even use them with my own children at home.” [Primary School Teacher]

“As a teacher, I believe every student should leave school not just with academic knowledge, but with life-saving skills, and CPR is one of the most vital. Implementing the CPR 4 Schools program from the Irish Heart Foundation has been one of the most meaningful initiatives we’ve introduced.” [CPR 4 Schools Teacher]

New healthy eating resources for primary schools and teacher training for post-primary CPR and PE will be launched in September.

(Photo: Pupils in Ballinakill National School, Co. Laois ).

In June, we hosted a conversation with Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor on the brain, whole-brain living, and neurological recovery. Dr. Taylor is the author of the New York Times bestseller ‘My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist’s Personal Journey’.

It has so much hope and words of wisdom for stroke survivors and anyone dealing with a long-term chronic condition, or for those with an interest in the brain or their brain health.

You can view the recording here