Laura Dowling

Typically, the commission runs for over two weeks and typically parliamentarians would come the second week, but we really wanted to come the first week because a lot of debates, discussion, political pressure happens that week.

So it was my first time there.

So it was so fascinating to see everything and then understand how sadly we're seeing rollbacks.

And then from a personal side, I had moved to the States.

I was born in Boston, but raised in a big city called Shrew in County Mayo, which is about the size of

the two of us here.

But you got to be proud of where you come from.

But I moved to New York in my early 20s.

So it was wild to be back in the city that never sleeps in a different capacity.

Yeah.

So from a personal and professional, it was really cool.

Which do you prefer, Mayo or New York?

Or are they just so different you couldn't possibly think?

So vastly different.

I compare Shrew to the city of New York in terms of size, but it's really not.

But I was two years in New York and then about four in Philadelphia.

Yeah.

And I would pick Philadelphia every day.

Really?

Okay.