PuddleDucks Blog

I recently discovered dad.ie – a new Irish-based website for dads and dads-to-be. There are already lots of sites for Irish mums including RollerCoaster, MagicMum and Eumom. However, the male of the species was not very well catered for – up to now. Dad.ie aims to fill this gap.

It’s a great looking site and contains loads of information in areas such as Health & Fitness, Money & Legal, Fatherhood and Lifestyle. It also has a community forum for engagement in topics of interest and issues. The site was created by David Caren and I asked David to write a guest post describing why he started the site and the thinking behind it. Over to you David:

When my wife was pregnant with our first daughter, Robin, like all new dads-to-be I needed to know what I was letting myself in for, I desperately wanted information on what to expect over the nine months so the obvious place to start off with was on the net. What I found there was a serious lack of information for dads-to-be written by dads, or indeed written from a male perspective. Now don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of great pink & fluffy sites for the expectant mammy, but not one for us dads. I was also working in Waterstones in Cork at the time so I was familiar with all the available pregnancy books on offer. The one (or at a push two!) male related titles were written more from a comedic viewpoint such as ‘From Lad to Dad’.

My decision to go ahead and set up www.dad.ie was further reinforced whilst attending the scans at our obstetrician’s office. You see, although the mums-to-be were chatting freely together exchanging tips and recommending various prenatal products, the dads looked very out of place, and if I must be honest, a little lost!

As the site began to develop I discovered that what was needed was more than information  just for the dad-to-be, so the site set-up was extended to include information on fatherhood, men’s health issues, money & legal advice and general areas of male interest including car and travel, grooming, sport, gadgets and entertainment. What is also of great significance on the site is a forum where dads and dads-to-be can talk about a range of issues from childbirth to everyday dad life. www.dad.ie is designed in the style of a modern men’s magazine with articles updated regularly, with all previous articles available through the site’s archive.

Visitors can subscribe to newsletters and take part in online polls. I am delighted to have onboard a host of writers whose contribution is based not only on their professional experience but also on their practical experience as dads & dads-to-be. This includes the popular RTE Clinical Psychologist David Coleman (“Teens in the Wild”) and John Lowe – ‘The Money Doctor’, known for his bestselling books on personal finance. Padraig Murphy, formally of the RTE programme ‘Health Squad’, John McHale –  Sports Editor with Cork’s Evening Echo newspaper, Brian Byrne – Managing Editor of ‘Irish Car + Travel’. Journalist and author of the dad-to-be diary -‘That’s My Baby!’, Pól Ó Conghaile, men’s health correspondent – Dr. Tony Foley, GP, and Dr. John Waterstone – Medical Director and Co-Founder of Cork Fertility Centre. 

Thanks David. Wishing you lots of success with the site.