Kildare University hosting launch of the StoryMap for the 'Coolock Travellers' Community Mapping Project'

A university in Kildare will host the launch of the StoryMap for the 'Coolock Travellers' Community Mapping Project'.

Maynooth University (MU) will be hosting the launch of the project, which will document Travellers’ stories of belonging and unbelonging in North Dublin, and showcase Travellers’ experiences, sense of identity and emotional geography in Coolock. 

It is comprised of a collection of audio and edited stories about places of inclusion, along with sections offering further resources and information about the importance of community mapping as an anti-colonial practice building upon local knowledges.

The event will begin with welcome​s from ​Dr Gemma Irvine, Vice President of the Office of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at MU, and Professor ​Emeritus Anastasia Crickley, ​of Pavee Point and Applied Social Sciences at MU.

An Athena Swan Geography Seminar will follow with brief presentations introducing the history and outcomes of the Traveller-led research project by team members Michael Collins (Pavee Point Health Team), Andy O'Hara (former Pavee Point Men's Health Coordinator), Professor Karen Till (Maynooth Geography), Dr Rachel McArdle (University of Galway Geography), and Professor Gerry Kearns (MU Geography).

In addition, a demonstration of the StoryMap will be led by MU Geography PhD candidates Kate Aston and Sophie Thiesen.

Following the launch, the audience will be able to explore the digital map and pose questions to the team.

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EXHIBITION

There will also be a​n accompanying exhibition in the lobby of Maynooth Library, which will include a large colourful wooden map resulting from numerous workshops led by the TravAct Coolock Traveller Team ​and videos about the project and digital StoryMap.

This exhibition will be on display ​during limited hours from November 14 to November 18, as part of international 'Geography Awareness Week' (GeoWeek), and will be sponsored by the Geographical Society of Ireland.

The StoryMap project was a collaboration of Pavee Point Roma and Traveller Centre, TravAct, and Maynooth Geography, and was funded by the Irish Research Council 'Enhancing Civic Society' New Foundations grant, MUSSI, and the Experiential Learning Centre.

The digital StoryMap is a significant outcome of almost two years of work that builds upon a four-year collaboration between Pavee Point and TravAct Traveller and Maynooth Geography researchers, which includes the Pavee Roads Home StoryMap. 

There will also be a reception to follow the launch.

The launch will take place on Thursday, November 17 at the Rocque Lab in the Rhetoric Building on MU's South Campus.

It will commence at 4pm.