Willow Domestic Abuse Services is the new name for Meath Women's Refuge & Support Services
need help: Our 24hr helpline is 1800 46 46 46
Quick Exit

About us

We are a comprehensive service supporting women and children affected by domestic violence and abuse in Co. Meath, as well as community based prevention and education activities.

What we do

We support women and children affected by domestic violence and abuse in County Meath. Our services include:

  • Free, Confidential 24-Hour Helpline

  • Outreach & Community-Based Supports

  • Support with Legal Protection Orders and Court

  • Specialist Support for Children and Young People

  • Safe Emergency Refuge Accommodation

  • One-to-one Support & Counselling Services

  • Support Groups & Personal Development Programmes

  • Zero Tolerance Meath community-based programme

  • School and youth-based education prevention programme

Our purpose

We exist to work towards a society free from domestic, sexual and gender-based violence and abuse.

We support women and children on their journey towards safety, wellbeing and recovery through a range of specialist services, including:

Refuge accommodation
Outreach and community services
Child and youth services, in refuge and in the community
Counselling and play therapy
Educationand personal development

We promote a culture of zero tolerance of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence in Co. Meath through:

Our Zero Tolerance Meath community-based programme
Primary prevention and community education
School and youth-based education

We work to influence long-term societal and systemic change at local, regional and national level by:

Collaborating with peer organisations to advocate for change
Strengthening the voice of the community in Co. Meath through leadership and partnership

Our values

  • Respect
    • We are passionate about achieving human rights and dignity for all and are committed to challenging the pillars of women's inequality in society. We embrace diversity and strive to be a fully inclusive organisation. We engage respectfully with others even when we do not agree with them.

  • Trust
    • We trust women and children as experts in their own experiences. We trust each other as colleagues and act with integrity and transparency towards our purpose. We are honest and consistent in our approach and strive to achieve high standards across the organisation.

  • Empathy
    • At the core of our work is listening, supporting and using our influence for the common good. We work with compassion so that people feel valued and heard. We seek to understand the perspective of others and are non-judgemental in our approach.

  • Hope
    • We believe hope is a powerful tool for change. We draw hope from the solidarity, bravery and resilience of those with lived experience and from our community. We believe change takes time, but it is possible and we all have a role to play.

Memberships

Logo: Children's Rights AllianceLogo: Safe Ireland

Our Impact last Year

Emergency Refuge Accommodation
188 women and children provided with emergency accommodation
Outreach and Court Support
588 women and 77 children supported in the community across Co. Meath
Helpline Services
Responded to 1,661 helpline calls, an average of 32 per week
Professional Counselling
800+ hours of adult counselling provided
Therapy for children
106 hours of play therapy / adolescent counselling provided
Education and Awareness
25 women attended group programmes and 52 education and awareness sessions were held in the community

Our funding

Meath Women’s Refuge and Support Services receives statutory funding from:

We are deeply grateful for the generous support we receive from the public and our partners, including Meath County Council, Community Foundation Ireland, Meta, Kingspan, Mason Hayes & Curran and the HSE National Lottery. Discover how you or you company can get involved and help us expand our impact.

OUR PEOPLE

Frances Haworth

CEO

Frances is CEO at Willow Domestic Abuse Services.

Frances joined Willow Domestic Abuse Services in 2022 and served as Development, Impact and Policy Manager before taking on the role of CEO in September 2024. Frances has a long track record of leadership in the non-profit sector, with significant experience in philanthropy, research and international development. Prior to joining Willow Domestic Abuse Services, Frances worked as a senior leader with Community Foundation Ireland, Trócaire and Comber Foundation and as a consultant. She is passionate about realising the potential of people to affect positive change in their society, with a particular focus on the areas of children's rights and gender equality. Frances has a MSc in Applied Social Research from Trinity College Dublin and is a former board member of Trim Family Resource Centre.  

Sinead Gogan
Chairperson

Sinead is Chief Human Resources Officer with Deloitte Ireland.

Working with Deloitte, Sinead has responsibility for the firm people and purpose strategy. Sinead is a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Personnel and Development and holds post-graduate qualifications in employment law and alternate dispute resolution. In addition to her voluntary role with Willow Domestic Abuse Services, Sinead was appointed as an ordinary member to the Board of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) in Ireland.

Ruth Keegan
Board Member

Ruth Keegan is HR Director with Novo Nordisk.

Ruth has worked in HR for many years across the public and private sector. She is currently HR Director for Novo Nordisk Ireland, having previously held senior HR roles in Mylan, Vodafone and Sanofi. Ruth has a MSc in organisational psychology from DCU and is a chartered member of the CIPD.

Michele Sweeney
Board Member

Michele is Director with Opperman Associates, Architects.

Michele has an extensive career in architecture and working in the architecture & planning industry. As Director with Oppermann Associates, Michele has responsibility for design and in particular, the company's leisure and schools work. She has in excess of twenty years experience in the design and implementation of large and complex projects both in Ireland and internationally.

Claire Sheeran
Board Member

Claire is Communications Manager with Avista.

Claire is a communications professional with 10 years of experience in the not-for-profit sector. She is currently Communications Manager with Avista (Formerly Daughters of Charity Disability Support services) and has previously worked in the Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation and Headline Ireland. Claire is a proud Meath woman and has served as a Board member with Willow Domestic Abuse Services since March 2021.

Richelle Manning
Board Member

Richelle is Investor Relations and Credit Rating Manager for ESB.

Richelle previously held a number of roles in the ESB Group including Finance Business Partner, Networks Governance Manager, and most recently Business Pricing Manager, Customer Solutions. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, and previously worked with KPMG in Dublin.

Sinead Christian
Board Member

Sinead has served on our board since 2018 and is undertaking her second term. She has an extensive background in marketing, management and fundraising in the private and charity sector, including with the Irish Wheelchair Association, Make-A-Wish and Trócaire. Sinead also serves on the fundraising and communications committee of the board. Sinead is a strong supporter of the impact and effectiveness of the services in the community and passionate ally on delivering ongoing development and engagement with supporters.

Liam Keane
Board Member

Liam is an established solicitor with a practice based in Meath for almost 30 years.

Liam has been State Solicitor for Co. Meath since January 2019. He is an Accredited Mediator (Civil & Commercial and Family) and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. Liam has been involved in the GAA all his life as a player and as an administrator at club, county and national level. He is also a member of the panel of arbitrators of Sport Dispute Solutions Ireland – the Sports Arbitration body established by the Federation of Irish Sport.

Meabh Smith
Board Member

Meabh is Communications Director with the Construction Industry Federation.

Meabh has over twenty years of communications experience providing strategic oversight and management of communications including media relations, integrated campaign management, digital marketing, branding, website development, social media engagement, event management and publications. Meabh has worked across many sectors including financial reinsurance, the disability sector and overseas development sectors, where she managed public communications campaigns on domestic and international issues.

John Dunne
Board Member

John is currently a Portfolio Manager with NAMA.

John has twenty years’ experience in senior finance roles in the Real Estate industry and has also worked across other sectors including advertising, leisure, shipping, and telecoms. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and previously worked with KPMG in Dublin.

Our History

Willow Domestic Abuse Services (formerly known as Meath Women’s Refuge & Support Services) was one of the first women’s refuges in Ireland when established in 1987. A group of pioneering local women conducted research and discovered that domestic violence was one of the key issues affecting women in Meath. These women went on to establish a refuge which was initially staffed on a voluntary basis. In 1990, we secured ongoing state and local authority funding to establish the service on a permanent footing.

For almost 40 years, we have supported and advocated for thousands of women and children affected by domestic violence and abuse in Co. Meath. There has been much progress in this time in terms of understanding and awareness, but domestic violence and abuse of women and children is still widespread in Irish society.