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“I came to Ireland in 1992. I’m from England originally and moved to the midlands, then Dublin initially. I then settled in Leitrim. Living in a rural setting is so much more preferable for me. I am a poet and I find the land and natural world inspire a lot of my poetry; it’s the beauty of it, the ease of it, the calm of it. I feel very lucky to be able to live in a rural setting. Here, in the countryside, I can be out with the dogs, I can be out for a walk, I might meet someone to say hello to or I might not see anyone and that can be very lovely. Peaceful!
To have a little bit of land to keep animals or even just to see animals, it is beautiful and not to be underestimated. I’m not a farmer but I love watching farming through the seasons.
Interested in people
I now live in west Cork and work in east Cork. Let’s say I have a great preference for the under used parts of the country.
Since my young years, I’ve been involved in community arts as a writer and performer. When I came to Ireland, I did various jobs; hospitality mainly but as soon as the opportunity came up, I took a community development job because I’m just really interested in people and I feel really strongly that everybody’s voice deserves to be heard to the extent they want to be heard.
I work with Cumann na Daoine in Youghal which is a community development organisation. We provide programmes to support the inclusion of all kinds of people in our area; older people, migrants, people of low economic status and the LGBT+ community. The whole point of community development is that you get people to a point where they can take it on themselves and have the confidence to do it. And that’s true of my work as well. We say in community development, if you’re doing it right, you’re going to make yourself redundant.
One of my main focuses is LGBT+ rural inclusion because most of the national organisations, quite understandably, are based in the cities because that’s where the resources are. That means the rural voice is not heard as much. It is not deliberate, it’s just the way it is.
It helps to be a member of the community in this work; it gives a level of trust. What I do is simply unconscious because it is my nature, you know, I am out. I have always been out. I will be out anywhere.
Not everyone feels they can be out. Not everyone can do this. I am in the fortunate position of having the confidence and peer support to do that. Having the support of my family and friends. I grew up in Liverpool; I could take the flak! What I can do as an individual to empower the community is to really be myself.
Inclusion
One thing that can help people feel less marginalised is visibility. There is so much really good stuff going on in rural Ireland, especially here in Cork. If, for example, you are hosting a local festival, it’s a good idea to put a rainbow sticker on your posters or advertising. Let people know they are included. Those that don’t know what the rainbow sticker is for will ask and that will get people talking.
Talking is the biggest thing anyone can do to help people feel included. I find people are genuinely afraid to say the wrong thing and because they are afraid of saying the wrong thing, they end up saying nothing. We all make mistakes! So, call out the homophobic jokes, talk about Graham Norton, talk about the gay story line in the soaps on the telly.
The past couple of years have not been good for any of us. There are a lot of lonely people and they are not getting the opportunity to meet other people. This Valentine’s, I’m sending love to all our community.
It’s my dream job is to be able to focus on my own community. To be able to use fruitfully my skills and energy. I have to say, it is very fulfilling to be able to focus on a job I love and enjoy the surroundings that I am in. I consider that an absolute blessing.”
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