The Laois woman is also involved in monitoring violence against women in other countries.
A midlands woman and former CEO of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, has said Ireland was "a very cruel place to live" in the past.
Ellen O' Malley Dunlop, from Laois, was referring to the releases of the Ryan Report and Murphy Report, detailing cases of institutional and clerical abuse.
The Rathdowney woman is also a member of the European Council Committee which is involved in monitoring violence against women in different countries.
She has been speaking with Will Faulkner on Midlands Today about her life growing up in the midlands:
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