Obama Europe Leader empowers Irish girls

When Tammy Darcy, a 2024-2025 Obama Europe Leader, lost her big sister Shona to a brain injury, she turned heartbreak into a nationwide movement that now uplifts hundreds of thousands of girls across Ireland. The Shona Project is empowering a generation of Irish girls to reclaim their voices, stand taller, and shape their own futures.

“Turning something so painful and traumatic into something so positive has been the greatest honor of my life,” Tammy reflected. “Shona passed away two years ago, without ever knowing that hundreds of thousands of girls across Ireland had been supported and inspired by her name.” 

The Shona Project began as a personal tribute but quickly grew into a powerful platform of women and girls advocating for self-worth, resilience, and community. With nearly 300,000 girls reached to date, the project offers mentorship, digital resources, workshops, and its flagship Shine Festival—creating safe spaces where girls can feel seen, supported, and heard.

“For me, it’s not about scale alone,” Tammy said. “It’s about behavioural change. It’s in the girls who walk taller, who learn to set boundaries and expectations, and who begin to define what being a woman means to them, on their own terms.”

The project’s recently published national research report paints a sobering picture of what girls in Ireland face:

89% have worries and anxieties no one knows about.

73% feel the education system doesn’t make everyone feel accepted, represented, or included.

3 in 4 feel unsafe going out in the evening.

“These results are deeply concerning, but they give us a baseline and a clear mandate to focus on the issues that matter most—while amplifying the voices of girls to advocate for meaningful policy change,” Tammy shared. 

Tammy says the Obama Leaders Europe program gave her clarity in her pursuit to empower young women and girls in Ireland. She says one of the biggest lessons she learned was to dream bigger and not place limits on herself.

“The program helped me zoom out from the day-to-day challenges and see the bigger picture,” she recalled. “More importantly, it brought me into a community of kind, authentic, generous people who are always up for a virtual coffee and a much-needed pep talk.”

Looking ahead, Tammy and her team are developing a pilot program for boys, recognizing that they, too, need spaces to explore identity, leadership, and well-being.

The Shona Project recently joined the Girls Opportunity Alliance Network (Opens in a new tab)—a global community of grassroots leaders, organizations, and individuals committed to educating and empowering adolescent girls.

“The challenges girls face here in Ireland are echoed around the world,” Tammy said. “Joining the Alliance allows us to connect with like-minded organizations and to share opportunities and resources across borders.”

As excitement builds toward the opening of the Obama Presidential Center in 2026, Tammy sees it as a milestone not just for the Foundation, but for the global movement it continues to nurture.

“It’s not just a building—it’s a symbol of what’s possible when we lead with empathy, conviction, and community,” she said. “I hope it becomes a place where voices like ours are not just heard, but celebrated.”