Maria Walsh

speaker

588 appearances 2 recordings 2 series first heard May 2026 last heard 9 May

Maria Walsh’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

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recordings per month · last 12 months

Recordings per month over the last 12 months — 2 in all, peaking in May 2026 with 2.

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Brendan O'Connor · Maria Walsh MEP: “It takes a village – that’s the image I’m leaning on, as a gay, single mum-to-be" · 9 May 2026 podcast

But circumstance, waiting to meet somebody wasn't happening and wasn't happening fast enough, given my age and the wants and wishes that I had for my life right now.

So you take that in, in full consideration.

But

I'm really leaning into and embracing It Takes a Village.

And I'm really excited for my village, who I know will show up in their droves to support from my team, who are an extension of my family, to my immediate family and friends who are all calling themselves aunties and uncles, even though I'm not directly related to them.

But that is a striking image that I think

I have been really leaning into as a gay single mum to be because I don't know for anybody else, particularly in my circumstance, that image is something that you often see and you're thinking, oh my God, that's so beautiful.

The dad's carrying his child out.

And that ideal doesn't exist.

And I think adding space to that is really important.

Yes.

Yes, not from those nearest and dearest, which is often the case.

You know, in 2014, when I shared my story about being gay, you really had to deep dive down into the rabbit hole of social media platforms and read links to find negativity about my orientation.

Stepping into politics in 2019 shifted that.

But I have to say in the last six months, nearly 12 months, the violent and horrendous language online towards me, my weight gain, my hair colour, how tired I look, what I'm wearing, far beyond my talks on policy and where I stand on stuff.

I think this will create a little bit of noise.

But I hope...

What I would say about anything democratic or someone's fundamental right, I would hope the silent majority finds their voice and deafening the loud minority, because some people feel it's only one platform that's the worst.

It's on multiple platforms.

And I've had family and friends, particularly around weight gain in the last months, really upset.

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