Working Life: I’ve experienced the fear of seeing my partner struggling to catch a breath

Eilís Ní Chaithnía, CEO, Asthma Society of Ireland

Eilís Ní Chaithnía, CEO, Asthma Society of Ireland.

“I joined the Asthma Society in 2019, as research and advocacy manager, and was appointed CEO four years later. Previously, I was with the National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI) and I worked closely with NWCI director, Órla O’Connor, on the Together for Yes campaign. The vote ended the constitutional ban on abortion in May 2018.

“My first child was born that July and I spotted a job advert for a research-and-advocacy role at the Asthma Society.

“I subsequently got the job. The covid pandemic hit in March 2020. It was a tricky time, given the great uncertainty around the risk covid posed to asthma patients.

“Our key role was to ensure a strong line of communication from the HSE to the patient and back again. It was one of the most challenging times of my career — I was pregnant again, adding to the complexity — but we were very clear on what we needed to do and how we would do it.

“Since joining the Asthma Society, I’ve been struck by the numbers affected — almost half a million in Ireland. I don’t have asthma, but my partner does, and I’ve experienced the fear of seeing him crouched on the bed in the middle of the night, coughing and struggling to catch a breath.

“As a woman in my 40s, I’m conscious of the importance of good health, so I start my week with a strength-training class. As a family, we are in to cold therapy. This led to the idea of an icy Plunge for Asthma fundraising challenge. On September 18, 50 business leaders will join me in taking the plunge into an ice bath. The idea is that when you hit cold water, you can struggle, the way asthma patients do, to catch your breath.

“We met with minister for health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill about Budget 2026. Our priorities are a government-commissioned review of asthma deaths in Ireland and for ‘combination’ inhalers to be made free for asthma patients. Subsidising these medications would cost the State approximately €14m per annum, and it would truly transform health outcomes for tens of thousands across Ireland.”

• For more information on the supports and services offered by the Asthma Society of Ireland, including its pre-budget submission, check out www.asthma.ie