Welcome back to this new season of Wander. This year we’ve got a fantastic lineup - and for the first time including Traveller poets. For those outside of Ireland, Travellers are the indigenous people of Ireland. They are a distinct ethnic minority with their own culture, language and traditions. In the 1960’s the Irish government brought in a series of laws that tried to destroy their way of life.
My guest today, Helen Hutchinson, was one of the first families to experience this state policy and we talk about this in depth, and how it affects people today.
She’s an incredible woman, with a lifetime of activism and community building - and is a founding member of Pavee Point, a groundbreaking group set up in 1985 which uses a collective community development approach to fight for Traveller & Roma human rights.
‘The system did a job on us,
banned us from traveling and moving on.
It is a caring country, a land we call home.
Wrap the starry flag around me for I am Irish too.’
'The Starry Flag' by Helen Hutchinson
Helen is also a prolific poet - She’s one of Skein Press’ ‘Play It Forward’ Fellows in 2023, author of the poetry collection, ‘From The Dirt Lane to the Open Roads’ and guest editor of the Poetry Ireland Review pamphlet Trumpet (issue 13).
Also, if you know any Traveller or Roma poets please let them know about an open call for Wander. This is also open to poets with lived experience of forced exile or seeking refuge.
It’s a paid opportunity and the submissions are open until the end of April - all the details are up on the website - www.bairbreflood.org/wander-submissions
A massive thanks to The Arts Council of Ireland who’ve funded this again, and to everyone who got in touch with me since the last season, and who’ve shared episodes and given their feedback - thank you!