The Gluten Free Kitchen Company

11/09/2026

🌸 A little Friday subscriber update!

I’ve been out and about again this week, which means more places to add to our eating-out guide!

Next week I’ll be sharing two more locations - one in Dublin and one in Meath. 👀🍴

I’ll share what I ordered, my experience eating gluten-free and, most importantly, how I found the coeliac awareness.

Have you discovered anywhere recently that you think I should try? Drop your recommendations below. 👇🌸

If you’d like to join our subscriber community and get access to our subscriber content, you can join us on Facebook or Substack:

🌸 Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/thegfkitchenco.ie/subscribenow?surface=permalink_share_goals_post_url

🌸 Substack:
https://doireannbarrett.substack.com

Writer, independent journalist, Podcast Host and campaigner. Founder of the Multi Award Winning The Gluten Free Kitchen Co. and Cneasú Community. Exploring women’s health, resilience, food, policy, and the stories that deserve to be heard. Click to read Doireann Barrett on Substack. Launched 2 mo...

11/09/2026

I earned my place in the room 🌸

On September 10th, I sat on the storytelling panel at Digital Velocity in Dublin - the day after receiving more difficult health results.

I may not have looked or felt my best, but sitting on that stage reminded me of the resilience and passion that have carried me through 15 years of business, chronic illness, grief and adversity.

From Dublin, I will travel onwards to a beautiful retreat - meeting new people, reconnecting with a friend in Dublin and moving onwards to spending time among Trim Castle, Newgrange and the Hill of Tara.

You may not always get to live your best life while navigating chronic illness - but you can still try, still show up and still take your place in the room.

Read the full article:

https://doireannbarrett.substack.com/p/i-earned-my-place-in-the-room?r=2lilgm&utm_medium=ios

09/09/2026

🍎 It’s Apple Season! 🥧

And that means our gluten-free Apple Tarts are particularly delicious at this time of year.

Made with our handmade gluten-free pastry and our own homegrown apples, there’s something extra special about baking with fruit straight from the garden. 🍏

Perfect served warm, with cream, custard or simply enjoyed just as it is.

Our Apple Tarts are handmade in small batches and fresh to order.

📍 Based in Co. Kerry
📍 Collection from Tralee

📱 WhatsApp / Text: +353 (0) 86 241 4349
📧 Email: [email protected]

⚠️ Social media DMs are not monitored for orders.

🍎 Homegrown apples. Handmade pastry. Completely gluten free.

07/09/2026

My medical life and professional life have become impossible to separate.

I have repeatedly saved for retail spaces and production kitchens, only to spend the money on surgery, medical care and time away from work while recovering.

Sometimes it feels as though I work simply to pay medical expenses.

As I prepare to speak about storytelling at Digital Velocity this Thursday, I have reflected on the story behind the achievements people see.

Read here:

https://doireannbarrett.substack.com/p/when-my-medical-life-and-professional?r=2lilgm&utm_medium=ios

05/09/2026

What a fairytale ending for Katie Taylor.

Fifty-four years after Muhammad Ali fought at Croke Park, Katie became a three-time undisputed world champion in the final fight of her extraordinary career.

I have been inside Croke Park many times and I was at the World Cup in the USA in 1994, but I have never witnessed an Irish sporting occasion quite like this.

My grandad was a UK and Irish featherweight champion, so boxing was part of our childhood stories. Watching Katie bring boxing back to Croke Park and make history gave me shivers - even through the television.

Tonight, Croke Park belonged to Katie Taylor.

Read my full reflection:

https://doireannbarrett.substack.com/p/katie-taylors-fairytale-ending-at?r=2lilgm&utm_medium=ios

05/09/2026

Great to see this called out , we have been priced out of so many Irish events for a very long time and many pitch fees I would not pay as they are exorbitant

04/09/2026

Today I had another MRI.

A few weeks ago, it was another ultrasound.

For almost my entire adult life, there has always been another appointment, another scan, another procedure, another result to wait for.

And eventually, it takes its toll.

I am emotionally, financially and medically exhausted.

Chronic illness doesn’t only affect your body. It affects your finances, friendships, social life, independence and mental health. Medical trauma follows you home - and sometimes the smallest thing can bring you straight back to an experience you thought you had processed.

I’ve also written about why I will never medically crowdfund again, the isolation of feeling unheard as a patient, and what happens when you spend so long surviving that one day you realise life has continued around you.

I don’t want my diary to be a medical diary.

I don’t want to simply survive my life.

I want to live it.

My latest Substack:

https://doireannbarrett.substack.com/p/i-am-tired-of-my-life-revolving-around?r=2lilgm&utm_medium=ios&shareImageVariant=title

04/09/2026

“Women may be the one group that grows more radical with age.” - Gloria Steinem

As the world says goodbye to one of feminism’s most recognisable voices, I’ve been reflecting on decades of activism - and on something I think we need to talk about more.

Credit.

Collaboration.

Competition.

The women who came before us.

The women working beside us.

And the women who will come after us.

Activism isn’t a race for the next interview, podcast, documentary, protest or seat at the table.

These are tools for creating change - they are not trophies.

We don’t have to agree.

We don’t have to campaign in the same way.

We don’t even have to like each other.

But we can respect each other’s contribution.

We can give credit where credit is due.

And we can remember that another woman’s visibility does not diminish our own.

The microphone is not the movement. The women are the movement.

There is enough room around the bonfire for all of us - just remember to credit the women who gathered the wood before you arrived. 🔥🌕

Read my latest Substack article in full:

https://doireannbarrett.substack.com/p/women-may-be-the-one-group-that-grows?r=2lilgm&utm_medium=ios&shareImageVariant=split

“The truth will set you free, but first it will p**s you off.” - Gloria Steinem