EXPERIENCES of being a single woman in Ireland in 2026 will be shared this Thursday at the Technological University of the Shannon’s Moylish campus for the launch of a new report by Limerick’s EDGE research group.
‘Experiences of Being Single: Women’s Perspectives’ will be launched at a free and open-to-the-public event at TUS from 10am this Thursday morning.
Speaking at the event will be activist Ailbhe Smile, Ashanti Bentil-Dhue (‘Unpunishable Woman’), and Cllr Elisa O’Donovan.
The report, being launched by the EDGE research group and Women’s Collective Ireland (WCI) Limerick, looks into the experiences of single women in Ireland in 2026.
Dr Lindsey Listen, EDGE, says that “almost half the population of every country in the global north are now single and the number is rising all the time. In the US, 52 per cent of women are single and Ireland is following these trends closely. We need to start talking about this. Our report asks women to share their experiences of being a single woman in Ireland in 2026.”
Yvie Murphy, WCI Limerick coordinator and research partner, added that “there are a lot of old-fashioned stereotypes about being a single woman that we want to challenge. Stigma impacts women’s freedom to make choices that are best for her life, and we want to use this research to add new dimensions to the conversation about single women’s lives and challenge those old stereotypes.”
Karen Sugrue, EDGE, said “the vast majority of our participants say they like being single, with freedom, sanity, and peace the most common words the women used when describing their experience of being single”.
“They also described challenges such as finances, housing, and aging and it is our intention to use the findings of this report to start a campaign to bring policy change that will address the challenges these women have highlighted.”
Ms Sugrue said this Thursday’s launch “will be a fun and lively discussion, we have fantastic speakers and all are welcome”.
For bookings, contact WCI on [email protected] or by phone on 087 328 3746.