We received an email from Johnstown Estate today asking of we would like to book an event there. How short their memory is. Here is our reply: ___________ Dear Alannah, Thank you for your email.  I must correct your header - we are the Natural Women’s Council not the National Women’s Council.  We truly advocate for the women and girls of Ireland - unlike the National Women’s Council NGO, we oppose the erasure of women, men invading women’s spaces and sports - and we do not accept that men can become women or children can change their sex. However, we cannot consider holding another conference at the Johnstown Estate, given our previous experience and the way we were treated. Our Safeguarding Children’s Education conference, scheduled for 5 April 2025, was fully paid for and sold out. Yet, with just one week to go, the Estate cancelled our booking following threats of protest. You let us down, you let our delegates down, and ultimately, you let down the many parents and grandparents in Ireland who wanted the opportunity to engage with these important issues. What compounded the situation was the Estate’s refusal to engage with me directly, instead referring me to solicitors who sought to argue that no contract existed, despite our site visits, agreed arrangements and full payment. This was an extraordinary response to a confirmed commercial booking. The cancellation attracted national attention. gript.ie/meath-hotel-cancels…. It is deeply concerning that the Estate chose to cancel a fully paid, sold-out conference rather than stand by its commitment and manage the threat of protest appropriately. One must question whether Johnstown Estate is prepared to facilitate only those discussions it considers sufficiently safe or uncontroversial. Freedom of expression and democracy mean little if lawful debate is abandoned whenever someone threatens to object. We did not expect the Estate to endorse our views. We expected it to honour its commitments and respect the right of people to meet and discuss matters of public importance. Your invitation to return does not undo what happened or restore the trust that was lost. Until there is genuine acknowledgement of the seriousness of the Estate's actions, we have no confidence in entering into another booking. In cancelling our conference, the Estate did more than disappoint a customer. It let down our delegates and denied concerned families an opportunity to participate in a discussion they considered important to their children's education and wellbeing. Kind regards, Jana

Looking back at who has been Minister for Children over the last ten years, it’s no wonder the lack of oversight is staggering. Who on earth thought it was a good idea to put them in charge of children? Unaccountable unacceptable and total failure.