Two days after Christmas, Jodie’s brother, an ex-prisoner, took his own life. It was 2004 and she was 12 years old.
Through the grapevine Jodie heard about the Dillon's Cross Project based at the Glen Resource Centre in Mayfield on Cork's northside. "Having to manage the children on your own, you are effectively a lone parent but yet you are married or have a partner in prison. You see him once a week. The partner in prison is in a kind of prison bubble and they can't relate to what is happening at home," says Eibhlín.
It is in an effort to break this cycle of re-offending that this project offering support and education is so important, she says. "Really what we are trying to do is prevent the next generation going down the same pathway," she says. She is so glad to be doing the course. Everything taught here is practical, she says. It’s good for the self confidence and for the company.