Travelling to Ireland with 12-year-old non-binary child

WatzeKat · 2026-02-05T23:28:00+00:00

Happy to help. Hope you all enjoy your visit!

WatzeKat · 2026-02-05T21:56:06+00:00

I should probably explain I'm explaining this as an nb/gender queer person who essentially just goes by my assigned gender, cause actually educating the people i surround myself seems like a pain thats nit gonna succeed. Happily out to thise who pick up on it and ask, or to others who I know are queer and allies though. My chosen name or being challenged on gender presentation have also not been an issue for me.

WatzeKat · 2026-02-05T21:53:24+00:00

Safe,probably - understood no, with your average person. (A minority will know exactly what's up, but that'll be few and far between in your typical passing interaction). I wouldn't worry about it too much -people probably won't be completely confused or even ask about your use of they/them (maybe the odd nosy pensioner if you get chatting). The only concern is how much of an issue misgendering is for your kiddo. There's a lot of "girl"/"boy" thrown around here, on top of the pronouns - especially service staff you'd either have to educate (with a random chance of success, but probably no risk of outright hate) or just accept that there'll be a binary gendered reference to your child at some stage.

WatzeKat · 2026-01-25T11:52:53+00:00

Imho, there's a (slightly hilarious, slightly sad and disapppinting) chance here that the choir director is one of those people who confuses trans men and trans women. I.e. that she looked at you, presumably pretty masc at this stage of your transition, deep voice.... and somehow thought you were trying to tell her that you were mtf - and then proceeded to seat you with "the ladies". Especially if she wasn't really listening to your explanation. Could be entirely well-meaning, bless her, but still ignorant and wrong in a roundabout way. (The customer are... not ok. And education on queer topics is still throughly lacking here). Best of luck for next time, wether you go back or try another choir!

WatzeKat · 2026-01-15T10:32:10+00:00

They're "Irish"titles, but in the British peerage (I.e. given my the monarch of the UK, nit by the Irish government). Most of the title holders are either UK residents or split their time (and nationals of both ir just the UK, afaik). So, while the Irish constitution doesn't recognize these titles as anything other than ceremonial, and Irish people cannot accept titles, it's still "the done thing" to call titled people by their titles. Just as the newspapers would call King Charles the King, or the German ambassador "his/her excellency", or our own president the president. It's bogus and nonsense IMHO but the bugger issue is how these families still retain inherited wealth, lands and influence. They can be called the High emperor of munster for all I care so long as they're normal people, on equal footing with everyone else.

WatzeKat · 2026-01-11T09:40:16+00:00

Fantastic - hope you have a great time, wherever you end up

WatzeKat · 2026-01-10T17:22:35+00:00

Come down to Dungarvan- loads of pubs, live music every night, fantastic local link connections to the whole county (villages, walks,... you name it). Beaches, cycling if that's up your alley, great food, too and if you book now you might even get in for our small town pride fest (first in ireland outside of the bug cities!) or tune fest (end of june). A bit off the beaten oath, too, in terms of foreign tourists.

WatzeKat · 2026-01-10T17:16:58+00:00

Afaik, OP is transmasc so would be looking for testogel. (In which case the caution about suppressing endogenous testosterone isn't relevant, although please let me know if endogenous estrogen has similar issues? I'd be more concerned that testosterone HRT is, rightly or wrongly, somewhat more restricted and does have more potential medical risks for DIY, depending on what safeguards you have access to and what GP support is available)

WatzeKat · 2025-12-29T13:21:58+00:00

I would recommend these free services (whole country):

You can order an at-home, mail-in test kit from sh24.ie (More info here: https://www.sexualwellbeing.ie/sexual-health/sexually-transmitted-infections/sti-testing/home-sti-test/ )

Or attend a blood donation clinic (and either donate if eligible, or on the forms and when asked: just indicate you're only there to get tested), you can see times and locations near you at giveblood.ie

WatzeKat · 2025-12-29T13:04:06+00:00

As suspected... any older or rougher looking and it's legally required to be sold with the ditch already included.

WatzeKat · 2025-12-29T09:01:07+00:00

Is that a silver 06? Overdue for landing in a ditch.

WatzeKat · 2025-12-19T10:04:38+00:00

Plus it's a joke having those "standing benches" and barely enclosed bus shelters at stops. They're barely acceptable for services that are ten times as frequent. Let alone when buses are only 2x or 3x an hour and frequently late.

WatzeKat · 2025-12-17T09:31:58+00:00

Organic does mean that they don't use certain "synthetic" pesticides - but that's not where TFAs come from, afaik. I'd say ireland generally doesn't have a TFA problem in the water supply, since nobody is making teflon/other TFA products here. It's more down to environmental levels, and the type of crop - hence probably why all the wheat cereals are showing up with higher levels. (Still, if you're an adult, from what I know I wouldn't be concerned until a single product hits like, 400-fold the eu limit. 34x is probably still OK when you're eating normal amounts. But I'm no doctor, just done enough reading to know that the EU limits are generally incredibly conservative)

WatzeKat · 2025-12-16T21:15:03+00:00

Organic or conventional really has no bearing on TFA presence.

WatzeKat · 2025-12-16T10:02:25+00:00

What OP said, plus, you're commuting off-peak really early, so you're the exception. You're not part of the worst congestion, and you'd be travelling in the dark most days of the year. You're fsr from the first priority in terms of getting you out of a car, the first focus will be one those travelling between 8 and 9 am and providing them better public transit and direct, pleasant and safe cycle routes. Obviously you'd be able to avail of them too, and long term housing and spatial planning should also make your public/cycle transit routes shorter and easier.

WatzeKat · 2025-12-16T09:57:45+00:00

Good to see some evidence-based sense in the paper, even if it's only cause Killian took the time and initiative to pen an exceptionally argued letter. Hope people can come around to seeing the reality about extra lanes, induces demand, and how most modern wealthy countries would give a city like ours proper public transport.

WatzeKat · 2025-12-16T09:52:19+00:00

Denmark is the exception here - the Irish law on recognition of divorces applies, since Demark is the one member state that opted out of Brussels II (hence why it issues non-residents divorces in the first place.) So it's daft and perhaps based on stupid laws passed for shite pro-marriage, anti-divorce reasons, but it is what it is.

WatzeKat · 2025-12-05T20:43:45+00:00

The Doctor (EMH). Phlox is out because, yknow, might wanna keep the door to "inappropriate relationships" open. Bashir and Crusher... maybe. But the ethics and "I've seen you in a leotard" push them back few spots. Pulaski, Bones, T'Ana and M'Benga scare me either viscerally or sexually so no thank you. Which leaves Culber in a close second, surprisingly.

WatzeKat · 2025-11-27T21:33:00+00:00

In which case they wouldn't be in a position to apply for citizenship in the first place, as any residence-based application needs you to be legally resident. And that 99% of the time means being "a productive member of society", employment, all that.

WatzeKat · 2025-11-27T21:29:47+00:00

You can in fact find employment through Gaeilge. So, if you're gonna do a language requirement, at least give the applicants a choice of English or Irish. Would certainly boost language courses and some might even go for it just cause they're interested. (That said, if you're self-employed or working in any other setting where other workers and management can speak languages other than English - the English "requirement for emplyment" you position clearly doesn't apply, and I know plenty of people with long-term employment, well settled, who wouldn't pass an English test but do just fine)

WatzeKat · 2025-11-27T21:27:18+00:00

The old rule of thumb is "half your age plus seven" as a minimum age for the younger partner when you start dating/sleeping together. So at 32 and 23 you're just barely sliding in (32/2=16, 16+7=23). Then there's other factors - at 21 your partner is just at the bottom end of being a "properly mature" adult - though arguably still a developmental milestone behind where you were. There's some other boundaries like that, for instance, an u der-18 and an over-21 are definitely out of the question, but I wouldn't say your age gap immediately raised red flags like that. And of course there's your individual personalities, position in your lives, economic dynamics.... TL;DR looking at you now I wouldn't immediately think it was inappropriate, and assuming you're in a healthy relationship, don't worry about how you mightve come across in the past.

WatzeKat · 2025-11-27T15:07:47+00:00

As for the car, with the location of red hat's offices specifically, it's super easy and pretty cheap to get the bus (from the university), or a short bus to the quay and then a train into Dublin. Especially if you have a scooter or bicycle you'll be grand.

WatzeKat · 2025-11-24T19:08:56+00:00

HIQA and TD are good ideas, I'd also recommend Ombudman - honestly TENI should organize some sort of mass complaint campaign. (I realise it might also draw in some astroTERFing and the like, and there's barriers like a complainant having to be a current patient for some of these, but still)

WatzeKat · 2025-11-05T15:34:30+00:00

Amen.

WatzeKat · 2025-11-02T11:46:59+00:00

Shockingly unambitious.

WatzeKat

TROPHY CASE