The EU in Your Community
The EU in Your Community
The upcoming European elections are an opportunity for citizens to have a direct impact on the democratic governance of the European Union and shape the future direction of the EU while ensuring that diverse and underrepresented voices are heard.
With lots of interesting speakers and time for peer networking, this event will demonstrate the impact the EU has on our daily lives and why citizens should vote in the European elections. The event also features EU funding success stories from the local community and presentations from the Irish National Contact Points for various EU funding programmes so you can learn more about the EU funding pathways available to your organisation. A light lunch will be provided.
Join us to gain insights on the benefits of active EU citizenship, learn from your peers, and find out how Access Europe can support you to start your EU funding journey!
This event is a collaboration between The Wheel’s Access Europe programme and the European Parliament Liaison Office in Ireland.
Access Europe is funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs.
This is a free event for all. Get your free spot now.
Meet Your Facilitator
Emma Murtagh has worked with The Wheel since 2017 in various roles including European Programmes Officer, Grants and Research Officer, and most recently Senior European Programmes Manager. She oversees the delivery of Access Europe, a support and capacity building programme for the sector around accessing and managing EU funding.
Meet Your Speakers
Fionnuala Croker grew up in the Donegal Gaeltacht, speaking Irish and English as mother tongues. She trained as a lawyer, and was called to the Bar in Ireland and in New York. She started her career as a legal advisor at the Department of Justice. In 2006, she was appointed a Lawyer Linguist at the European Parliament, drafting and editing legislation. In 2012, in the teeth of the financial crisis, she moved to the European Central Bank where she advised on a wide range of Irish and Union financial and banking law issues. In 2019, she was appointed press officer at the European Parliament Liaison Office in Ireland and, since January 2023, is Acting Head of Office there.
Christina Fitzharris works with Youth Work Ireland Laois as the Manager of Midlands LGBT+ Project. In her role, Christina coordinates all of our adult LGBT+ projects and across Laois, Offaly, Westmeath and Kildare and delivers LGBT+ training in the area along with overseeing Laois Pride and Heartlands Pride in Athlone. Christina has a BA in Social Care and a Postgrad in NGO Management and Development and has been involved in LGBT+ and community groups for over ten years.
Ruth Kavanagh is a registered associate nutritionist (ANutr) and health researcher working with EduFIT for the past six years. EduFIT is an online health education and functional fitness company which recently secured EU funding from the Erasmus Plus programme for 'AgeWell Europe’ which aims to support healthy ageing through an 8-week online multimodal exercise and health education programme in middle-aged and older adults across Europe in Ireland, Italy, Germany, and Slovenia. Ruth’s main roles include designing and delivering evidence-based nutrition and health education workshops and programmes. She helps lead participant recruitment, monitoring, and support in addition to communication and social media campaigns. To date, Ruth has nine research publications. Her research has focused on evaluating the effectiveness of tailored lifestyle interventions targeting specific demographics such as middle-aged and older adults, women in all stages of menopause, farmers, and third-level education students. Additionally, Ruth has evaluated the dietary intake, quality, and adherence to dietary cancer prevention recommendations in a cohort of cancer survivors in Ireland.
