L'Derry domestic abuse survivor raises thousands for Women’s Aid after launching TikTok campaign
Alannah Kerrigan launched the campaign after a video she posted calling out online trolls went viral
Last updated 27th Aug 2025
A Londonderry Content Creator has used negative comments from online trolls to launch a fundraising and awareness campaign about domestic abuse.
33-year-old mother of three Alannah Kerrigan suffered a violent attack from an ex while living in England more than a decade ago.
She started creating content online around five years ago and earlier this year addressed troll comments in a video which went viral.
She said: “At that time, I didn't realise that what I'd experienced was domestic abuse because I didn't really know what it was. I'd heard about it and I'd seen posters, and I thought you had to be older than I was, I thought you had to be married, I thought you had to have children. I thought that they had to be physically abusive all the time and although my ex-partner was physically abusive, most of the abuse was emotional, mental, and financial and all other kinds of abuse that I didn't even know were abuse.
“Obviously, the physical stuff is harder to ignore, so I knew that was wrong, I knew that that had to be the end of that relationship. "I genuinely feared for my life in that last encounter, and I knew that there was no way I could go back, but I just didn't really know how to proceed and go forward.”
Alannah moved back home around nine years ago and started seeing a counsellor who suggested contacting Foyle Women’s Aid. After getting help from the charity she decided to volunteer and has been for around seven years.
It was after getting thousands of views on her video addressing troll comments, she decided to turn the clicks into cash for Women’s Aid.
She said “In that video I had mentioned the fact that I had been a survivor of domestic abuse at such a young age and essentially said, you'll not say anything to me that's going to hurt my feelings more than what I've already heard or said to myself. Which is true. That's one thing if you survive something like that. It gives you very thick skin.
“The response to that video was so overwhelming and then overnight I had all these new followers and people asking questions about my experience and people just cheering me on because people like to see someone do well and people really want to get behind a positive story once in a while.
“So, then I got the idea, I knew that you could get paid just for views on TikTok videos. I was like, wouldn't it have been amazing if that video had been generating money that I could have donated to Women's Aid?
“In total I made about 600 pound over three months. So, it wasn't an earth-shattering amount of money. But money is money at the end of the day.”
The Derry woman then started to reach out to local businesses and eventaully organised a Paint and Sip event which raised almost £800 pounds.
This was followed by a wellness day which included: yoga, holistic remedies, a nutritional therapist, and people who worked in fashion.
100 people attended raising around £3,500 for the organisation, bringing the current fundraising total, including other donations, to around £6,500 pounds.
She added: “The day of the wellness event was very much a bit of a reflective day for me. Although I was rushed off my feet busy all day. Having people come up and speak to me and tell me the impact that what I'm doing has had on them, that really moved me.
“There's definitely power in your voice, and there's power in using your story. You just have to be very careful how you do it.”
“There was a time in my life where I really didn't want to exist, and it hurts me now to say that aloud.
“There's always hope for a better future, and if I had let my worst days define me, I may never have met my husband, had my children, or built this beautiful life that I have now,
“I'm so grateful that I just held on to that wee bit of hope. At times, it was really, really difficult, and I didn't really feel like I had it on me, but you do.
“Your best days are almost always still in front of you, so just keep holding on. Reach out for help and support if you need it, and life does get better.”
You can donate to the fundraiser here: Alannah Kerrigan is fundraising for Foyle Women’s Aid
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