'My ADHD diagnosis changed everything. I no longer constantly question why I am the way I am'

Grace Foley spent most of her life working towards being a professional performer, but during one performance — while singing in front of her young daughter — she stopped the show early, walked off stage, and decided that night she could no longer continue in music. 

Grace Foley: 'The unravelling began long before that night.'

It was the second of a series of summer performances. I was at the Anam Arts and Cultural Centre in Killarney — July 20, 2024. A short performance, an hour long, just me and the backing track.

But that night, I felt my throat completely tighten right in the middle of the performance, in front of everybody. I was completely freezing. I stopped performing three songs early.