Our Team Score Big at Croke Park!

 

As a child, I was once an unused substitute on our school’s junior Gaelic football team when we played at Croke Park. It was sadly a once-off and the opportunity to play a sport on its hallowed ground never came my way again. 

 

But this week, after waiting a lifetime, I did manage to ‘perform’ at our country’s most famous stadium.

I co-presented, along with the fantastic Deirdre McHugh at the Ahead Conference hosted at Croke Park, a talk on the Crowd4Access footpath mapping initiative run by the Insight Centre and the Access Centre which is about improving the accessibility for all users of the University of Galway campus. The theme of the conference was on ‘How Staff and Learner Communities Drive Inclusion in Tertiary Education', and particularly in supporting equity/inclusion of people with disabilities in further/higher education.

It was so inspiring and I learnt so much about the great work being undertaken by so many people across Ireland’s universities in developing programmes to integrate those with intellectual and physical disabilities into mainstream university education and then how those that participated as a result have contributed greatly to ensuring cultural and systemic change that benefited all.

Amongst these wonderful pioneers of change are the staff of the University of Galway’s Access Centre who attended the Ahead conference, namely its visionary director Imelda Byrne, Campus Accessibility Project Coordinator Deirdre McHugh, and Mature Student Officer Kathleen Hartigan. We were proud to be at Croke Park as a team of four!

Crowd4Access is a partnership between citizens and professional technology researchers to map the accessibility of footpaths of Irish cities initiated by my fellow Insight colleagues Bianca Pereira and Venkatesh Gurram Munirathnam.

Everyone has challenges when navigating the footpaths of a city, or a university campus. The wheelchair user and the parent pushing a buggy may need access ramps, the runner may need an even surface, the user of crutches may need shorter street crossings, the person with low eyesight may need a good contrast between footpath and the street, whereas the blind may need tactile pavement. Led by the Access Centre, University of Galway staff and student volunteers met for a series of online workshops (given by myself) and on-site mapping sessions to learn about how different people use footpaths in different ways and how to capture and share data on footpath accessibility. Our university community is the first to map a campus and one of a number of local communities nationwide that are through collaborative action mapping accessibility in their localities, and in making this information publicly available using free open-sourced software. 

 

Croke Park -once the Preserve of the Young Abled Bodied Male.

Whilst I was attending the conference, I was struck by the fact of how the ethos and culture of the Gaelic Football Association (GAA) and the wider Irish society has over the last few decades dramatically changed for the better.

The GAA has since its inception been a powerful force for good within Ireland and the wider Irish diaspora. It was a key part of the struggle against colonialism, of overcoming a sense of backwardness and inferiority promoted by imperial racist British values, and of helping to imbue the Irish people with a strong sense of pride in their rich heritage of language, mythology, music, poetry, and of course sport.

It also helped foster and nurture in local communities across Ireland devastated by famine, poverty and emigration a strong sense of place, togetherness and purpose.

However the GAA also promoted a conservative patriarchy where leadership was almost exclusively the preserve of men and where sport belonged to young able bodied males. There was no place for those that were physically disabled on the playing field, nor of those that were LGBT nor of the ‘foreigner’, most GAA sports were not open to women, and over time it became strongly associated with the Catholic Church. But that has fundamentally changed over the last few decades and today portraits of female players populate the halls of Croke Park which has become a venue for conferences such as the one I attended this week promoting inclusivity, diversity and equality.

Thank you GAA.

My Mother was Brigid.

 

My Mother was Brigid.

Today is the first time a public holiday to celebrate a woman takes place in Ireland. St Brigid's Day honours the name of the renowned and powerful 5th century Christian female leader known as Bríd (Brigid/Bridget) as well as the ancient goddess of Celtic mythology. The former was associated with fertility, peace, intellect and farming and the latter with healing, fire and of poetry.

Women in ancient Celtic Ireland had strong influential and leadership rolea that we are only now recognising.

Check out my blog article on this hidden history of Ireland from 2010:

https://brenspeedie.blogspot.com/2010/02/st-brigit-remarkable-power-of-women-in.html

 

In an era when we have pioneering women all over the world taking up positions of leadership in so many sectors as well as courageous females successfully campaigning against sexual abuse, cultural/religious discrimination and misogyny in the USA, UK, South Africa, India and Mexico and as the patriarchal establishments in Afghanistan, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkey, Iran, Belarus and Russia use violence and 'tradition' to undo the gains of feminism, we need to have more days like today to recognise, rediscover and expose the often suppressed role of half of the world's population.

It is time to end male-only control of civil and religious governance. Such a state of affairs has only led to never-ending wars, and has through the climate/biodiversity crises brought the world to the edge of global catastrophe.

Like so many of her generation, my dearly departed and much loved mother was given the name of the popular Irish saint at her birth.

Both the Christian female leader and pagan goddess would have been proud that Bridget Agnew, popularly known as 'Bridie', took on many of their legendary traits. She was a farmer in her youth growing up with dairy cows, sheep, vegetables, fruits and flowers on the small family farm in Monaghan and later in Louth. As a young woman she managed the family's grocery shop in Dublin's city centre.

Like the Brigits of ancient times, Mom suffered but overcame male violence and the threat of societal stigma to ensure that her family got on in life. She followed in the footsteps of other great women that also experienced severe hardship to support family and country. Her mother (my grandmother) Mary Ward was the only sister to seven brothers who had to look after all their needs and keep the small family farm solvent when most of them were 'on the run' as IRA volunteers during the Irish War of Independence and the subsequent Civil War. Mom's own grandmother (my great-grandmother) Elizia Eccles spent years as a prisoner of the British Crown in the infamous female jail in Armagh as a result of her involvement in the 'Land Wars'. As a young mother Eliza refused to accept eviction and destruction of her family home by the local absentee Anglo-Irish landlord and being forced to live on the side of the road. She joined others in standing up against state brutality and unjust laws.

They and so many others like them were typical of ordinary poor women in the 19th and 20th century Ireland but their names and stories hardly ever appear in any history book.

In spite of the fact that, though their status in state and religion was as the property of their husbands and fathers, they were the ones that were the birth givers, nurturers, educators, peace-makers, home-makers, clothes-makers and food producers without whom human society would never have existed. They suffered more discrimination and violence than the men of their class in Ireland but it only now being finally recognised that they too stood with their menfolk on the frontlines as fighters, logistic personnel, community organisers and civil rights campaigners against the forces of oppression during the British period and after Independence.

Today is a day my mom would be proud of.

The early 2000s XBox Game Parties are back!

Thanks to the wonderful generousity of Philip Burke, last night we brought a whole new and exciting dimension to the museum's Retro Gaming Zone by putting in place an Offline Multiplayer Gaming Network from 2002 based on the original Xbox console.

Before Broadband became available to most homes, the capabilities and architecture of the first Xbox generation facilitated young people gathering together over twenty years ago in one location with their own consoles and screens to play the same games using a 'local area network' (LAN).
Known as the Xbox 'System Link', it allowed up to 16 players to share the same game.

Our good chippie friend Brendan Walsh made a very long table unit that accommodates four large screens with four of Microsoft's first home video game console. Two of the screens were donated by Diarmuid Keaney and two by Philip Burke who also provided the Xboxes.

Based on the feedback from last night's young participants who gave the system a trial run, the Xbox LAN is going to be one of the most popular interactive exhibits that the museum will have on offer to visitors.

The World has lost an Angel. Rest in Peace Carole Raftery

Carole was a special one, a person with a kind and generous nature who devoted the last twenty years of her life to working with asylum seekers in Galway. On a one-to-one level, she has done more for people staying in direct provision in Ireland than anyone else and as a result is loved by all of the thousands of people of dozens of nationalities that she assisted in their times of difficulty and transition.

Sadly she passed away on Thursday night.

In the summer of 2004 I called into the Eglinton Direct Provision Centre Salthill in my capacity as Education and Public Engagement Officer with DERI institute of NUI Galway to ask if I could provide computer training workshops to the residents. I did not know what to expect- it was an old hotel in need of major renovations and it had become home to a community of people that were new to Ireland and with whom I had never dealt with before. 

 

I was met at the reception by a lady with an enchanting smile and an infectious laugh that just radiated warmth and friendliness. I knew then that I would be staying for a very long time. 

 

In the summer of 2004 I called into the Eglinton Direct Provision Centre Salthill in my capacity as Education and Public Engagement Officer with the DERI institute of NUI Galway to ask if I could provide computer training workshops to the residents. I did not know what to expect- it was an old hotel in need of major renovations and it had become home to a community of people that were new to Ireland and with whom I had never dealt with before.
I was met at the reception by a lady with a gregarious smile and an infectious laugh that just radiated 

warmth and friendliness. I knew then that I would be staying for a very long time.
 

Carole, supported by the centre’s general manager Patrick McGovern, could not have been more helpful. I first provided courses off site. But within a year we had set up an inhouse computer room (an ‘Internet Café’ as it was called in those days!) populated with reconditioned computers sourced via DERI where residents could be trained in on software applications, communicate with loved ones in their homelands (early days of Skype), undertake online certified educational courses and finally be a location for us to provide weekly coding courses for both adults and children.

 
Then together working with the HSE (Brid and Maeve), the Galway City Partnership (Suzanne McNena and later Fiona Blaney), state agencies, the residents and others we set up the first ever weekly residents-management-external organisations liaison committee in such a centre, a library, created a residents’ managed website, organised a series of offsite events (fashion shows, children’s’ trips, sports activities) as well as in-house Christmas parties and receptions with mayors, TDs and government ministers…
So much happened due to Carole- she was the engine that kept things happening and moving along. Then in 2014 we secured and established a community garden for residents on old wasteland at the back of the centre with residents led by Lyudvig, with funding secured by Nollaig McGuinness(GCP) and with ongoing horticultural expertise from Kay Synott. The Eglinton front line staff of Patrick, Anne, Noel (RIP), Iva, Murdo, Lubo, Radoslav, Milada, Kevin, Sean… were always there to help out Carole and the rest of us.

Carole’s caring friendly disposition meant that she was looked on by most of the Eglinton residents in a very affectionate way. She was family. She was a listener. She was an advisor. Adults daily came to her for advice, and the kids called her ‘auntie’ such was her kindness and familiarity with them. On a weekly basis she chaired the Friday residents-management liaison meetings and ensured that the concerns of residents went to the appropriate authorities and were acted upon.

Carole devoted her life to others. With her big heart, kind nature and gentle soul, she was the fairy godmother and angel that will never be forgotten by all those who have had the privilege of knowing her and benefiting from her goodness. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam.

Then together working with the HSE (Brid and Maeve), the Galway City Partnership (Suzanne McNena and later Fiona Blaney), state agencies, the residents and others we set up the first ever weekly residents-management-external organisations liaison committee in such a centre, a library, created a residents’ managed website, organised a series of offsite events (fashion shows, children’s’ trips, sports activities) as well as in-house Christmas parties and receptions with mayors, TDs and government ministers…

 

So much happened due to Carole- she was the engine that kept things happening and moving along. Then in 2014 we secured and established a community garden for residents on old wasteland at the back of the centre with residents led by Lyudvig, with funding secured by Nollaig McGuinness(GCP) and with ongoing horticultural expertise from Kay Synott. The Eglinton front line staff of Patrick, Anne, Noel (RIP), Iva, Murdo, Lubo, Radoslav, Kevin, Sean… were always there to help out Carole and the rest of us.

 

Carole’s caring friendly disposition meant that she was looked on by most of the Eglinton residents in a very affectionate way. She was family. She was a listener. She was an advisor. Adults daily came to her for advice, and the kids called her ‘auntie’ such was her kindness and familiarity with them. On a weekly basis she chaired the Friday residents-management liaison meetings and ensured that the concerns of residents went to the appropriate authorities and were acted upon. 

 

Carole devoted her life to others. With her big heart, kind nature and gentle soul, she was the fairy godmother and angel that will never be forgotten by all those who have had the privilege of knowing her and benefiting from her goodness. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam