There are weeks when the work feels heavy.

And then there are weeks when you look up, exhausted, and realise that something you have been building quietly for months is no longer only in your head.

It is there.

It has a website. It has a directory. It has mothers walking into workshops. It has employers beginning to open doors. It has funders starting to recognise the need. It has people willing to listen, connect, advise, encourage, and help shape what comes next.

This was one of those weeks for Mums Hub .

I am tired, honestly. I have worked more hours than I probably should have, and there were moments where I wondered how I was going to get everything done. But underneath the tiredness there is something else too.

Relief.

Gratitude.

And a little bit of disbelief that this thing I have been carrying since September is beginning to stand on its own feet.

More Than a Website

The website going live feels like a huge step, not because it is perfect, but because it finally gives Mums Hub a place people can go.

I have been working on it for a long time, physically and in my head. I knew I did not want it to be just a few pages explaining who we are. I wanted it to be useful. I wanted it to be something a mother could open when she does not know where to start. I wanted it to help families, employers, and communities understand what we are trying to build.

That is why the directory matters so much to me.

At the moment, there are around 60 resources listed, and I know that is only the beginning. I will keep adding to it, probably forever, because there are so many services, people, places, and supports that deserve to be easier to find.

But even now, it is a start.

A parent living in a small space might find a park or green area they did not know about. A mother feeling isolated might find a free indoor place to bring her child, or somewhere she could meet other parents. Someone in crisis might find a service that can help. A family might find health information, out-of-hours support, or a community resource they did not know existed.

That matters because signposting is not a small thing.

When a mother comes to Mums Hub, I want to understand what she needs and help where we can. But I also know that we cannot be everything to everyone, and we should not try to be. Good signposting means knowing where the right help is, and helping someone reach it before they feel completely lost.

So yes, it is a website.

But to me, it is also a bridge between “I need help” and “this might be where I can start.”

Where the Work Becomes Real

In the middle of all the website work, we also had another CV workshop in Hill Street Family Resource Centre .

This followed on from last week’s introduction to Mums Hub, and it was one of those sessions that reminded me why all of this matters. The room was busy, the exercises were completed, and there was something so lovely about seeing mothers sitting there, thinking about their skills, asking questions, and taking themselves seriously again.

That part matters to me.

Because a CV is not just a document.

For many mothers, especially after time out of paid work, it can bring up confidence, fear, doubt, frustration, and all the quiet questions that sit underneath returning to employment. What do I put down? How do I explain the gap? Are my skills still relevant? Will anyone take me seriously?

So when mothers sit together and begin working through that, it is not small.

It is a step.

And every step matters.

Our next CV workshop is scheduled for 10 June at 10am in the Ilac Library, and I am really looking forward to continuing that work.

Pathways Are Starting to Open

One of the most important parts of the website is that we can now start showing real pathways into flexible employment.

That feels huge.

For months, I have been talking about the need for school-hour work, family-friendly roles, and employers who are willing to look at mothers not as a problem to work around, but as people with skills, experience, commitment, and so much to offer.

Now some of those conversations are beginning to turn into something more practical.

With Platinum Homecare Ltd , we already have around five mothers who have applied for work, and that feels like a very real step. Not a theory. Not an idea. A possible route into employment for mothers who want work that can fit more realistically around care.

We are also beginning something new with LADYCAB 🇮🇪 , and I am very curious to see how that grows. At the moment, we are collecting expressions of interest through a detailed form, not just to ask who is interested, but to understand what supports mothers would need to feel confident entering self-employment and starting a taxi journey.

Because access is not only about saying, “Here is an opportunity.”

It is also about asking, “What would you need to make this possible?”

That is the difference Mums Hub is trying to make.

Not pushing mothers into work that does not fit their lives, but building pathways with care, confidence, and reality in mind.

Building More Than One Way Back

The more I work on Mums Hub, the more I understand that there will never be one pathway that works for every mother.

Some mothers need a CV. Some need upskilling. Some need career coaching. Some need confidence building before they can even begin to imagine themselves back in work. Some need options placed in front of them because they have been so busy surviving that they have not had the space to think about what might be possible.

Some mothers need school-hour roles because that is the only window they realistically have. Some need part-time work. Some need flexibility around care, appointments, collections, or sick days. Some are looking for entry-level roles and a way to rebuild confidence. Others are ready for senior positions but need employers who understand that leadership and care can exist in the same life.

And there is everything in between.

That is why Mums Hub cannot be built around one model.

We are not a recruitment agency, and that is not the role we are trying to take on. But we do want to create meaningful pathways between mothers and the future of work.

Employers need skills. They need knowledge. They need reliable people. They need good retention. They need teams that understand real life, problem-solving, communication, patience, responsibility, and care. Mothers bring so much of that already.

What is missing is often not talent.

It is the bridge.

That is where Mums Hub can help. By listening to mothers, understanding what they need, researching what is possible, learning from models that already work in other countries, and working with employers who are willing to try.

Ireland does not have to start from nothing. Other European countries have tested different arrangements and gathered evidence on what works. We can learn from that. We can adapt it. We can modernise Irish workplaces if we are willing to work together.

Because flexibility should not stay as a nice word in a policy document.

It should become a practical route into work, progression, confidence, income, and participation for mothers whose talent is already there.

The Future of Work Has to Include Care

If we are serious about wanting more women in the workforce, more women progressing, and more women in leadership, then we have to be honest about the missing step.

Women cannot progress in systems they cannot re-enter.

For many mothers, returning to work is not as simple as sending a CV and starting full-time on Monday. Care does not disappear just because a mother wants to work. Children still need collecting. Appointments still happen. Sick days still come. Childcare is still limited, expensive, or not available at all.

So if we want mothers to return, stay, grow, and lead, there has to be room for gradual return. There has to be room for different hours, different stages, different responsibilities, and different starting points.

That should not be seen as lowering ambition.

It should be seen as protecting talent.

Because when mothers are pushed out for years, when they lose confidence, income, networks, and opportunities, that does not only hurt the mother.

It hurts employers. It hurts workplaces. It hurts the economy.

But it also hurts families.

Children need mothers who are supported, stable, confident, and well. That does not mean mothers have to be happy every second of the day, or that paid work is the only way to feel fulfilled. But it does mean that when mothers are isolated, financially stressed, unsupported, or made to feel like their needs no longer matter, that pressure is carried into the whole family.

The better we support mothers, the better chance children have of growing up with security, confidence, and a sense of what is possible.

Supporting mothers is not separate from supporting children.

It is part of it.

This is why I keep coming back to pathways.

Not every mother needs the same one. But every mother deserves a real one.

And if we build those pathways properly, we are not only helping mothers return to work. We are helping shape a future of work that is more honest, more flexible, and more connected to the reality of life.

A Bit of Breathing Space

There was another piece of news this week that I am still taking in.

Mums Hub was successful in a grant application through the NEIC Dublin to support the development of our confidence-building programme.

I will make a proper announcement about this separately, because it deserves its own space, but I do want to acknowledge what it means.

Until now, the only financial support Mums Hub has had was through our Spacehive crowdfunding campaign, which was matched by Dublin City Council . That support helped with the initial set-up costs, insurance and with getting the website in place.

Beyond that, so much has been carried through unpaid work, late nights, personal resources, and a belief that this is needed.

So to receive this grant means a lot.

It is a once-off seed grant to help us establish the confidence-building programme, but it gives us something very important: a bit of breathing space.

It means we can build the programme with more care, more structure, and more quality. It means the need is being recognised. And honestly, after carrying so much of this since September, it felt like relief.

Not because everything is solved.

But because something has been seen, recognized and rewarded.

And when you are building something from the ground up, that matters more than I can properly explain.

The Work Is Being Seen

Alongside all of that, there were moments this week that made me stop for a second.

I had my first interview in Ireland, which still feels a little surreal to say. I do not know yet what will come from it, but even having the conversation felt like another small sign that Mums Hub is beginning to reach further than the rooms I have been working from.

I was also invited to speak with the National Women's Council (NWC) about Mums Hub’s compatibility for membership. That was emotional for me. Not because membership itself is the whole point, but because being invited into that conversation felt like recognition that this work belongs in wider spaces too.

And I had a meeting with Janet Horner , which left me with so much to think about. Every time I speak with Janet, I am struck by the combination of sharp thinking and real kindness. It was lovely to be able to mull over ideas together and think about how Mums Hub can support even more mothers in a way that is practical, grounded, and real.

These moments matter.

Not because they mean the work is finished, or because recognition pays the bills, or because a meeting alone changes anything overnight.

But because being introduced, invited, included, and listened to matters so much when you are building something like this.

I know Mums Hub has already had important breakthroughs, and I am grateful for every single one of them. But I do not think I will ever stop feeling grateful when someone opens a door, makes an introduction, offers advice, shares time, or gives this work a place in a wider conversation.

That kind of support helps the work travel further than I could carry it on my own.

Building With Support

One important change on the website is that people can now donate to Mums Hub.

That feels like a big step, not because donations are the whole answer, but because they create another way for people to help this work continue.

We are currently a nonprofit organisation, not yet a registered charity. That is something we do want to move towards, but it has to happen when we have the capacity, structure, and time to do it properly.

Mums Hub is growing. The need is real. The work is moving. Donations will help us build it better, support more mothers, develop stronger resources, create better pathways, and keep shaping something that can be genuinely useful for mothers, families, employers, and communities.

And I keep thinking: if we have managed to build this much with very limited resources, what could Mums Hub become with proper support?

My biggest ask remains the same.

If you know a business, employer, funder, or person who wants to help us change the way we value mothers, care, and the work that makes life possible, please introduce us.

Because Mums Hub is needed.

And with the right support, we can build the bridge even stronger.

‍