Women’s Activist panel
Sat 26th November
11 am
Wexford Arts Centre
Duration 90 minutes, including q&a
Frederick Douglass Festival bringing together Women from various backgrounds to discuss the wins, challenges and struggle for the organisations and communities they represent. Healthcare, Gender based violence, racism and so much more.
An open and informative discussion with empowered and strong activists from various backgrounds and organisations
Panel
Chair – Aislinn Wallace
Mary Connors, NWTF and Minceir Whidden
Dariona Murphy, Abortion rights campaign
Veronica Victor, Wexford Pride and TransWaterford
Briana Fitzsimons, Black and Irish
Veronica Victor
Veronica Victor is a white American settled queer trans woman living in rural County Wexford for six years. She is currently on the committee of Wexford Pride and facilitator of the LGBTQIA+ Community Support Group in Enniscorthy as well as TransWaterford, an adult trans support group in Waterford. She is currently a therapist in training at PCI College.
Claire Briana
Black and Irish is an organization that is here to highlight and celebrate the identity of Black and Mixed-Race Irish people. We aim to spread awareness around the world of the experiences, struggles, and successes from within our community. Our mission is to engage with the wider Irish society, to come together, to celebrate our Black and Mixed-Race Irish identity, and to spread awareness by telling our stories.
Briana Fitzsimons – Teacher and Education Coordinator, Black & Irish
Briana grew up in Yonkers, NY and has lived in Ireland with her family since 2017. She holds a BA and MSc in English and Creative Writing, as well as teaching degrees in English and Special Education and is passionate about Social Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. She currently works as a secondary school teacher in Naas, Co. Kildare.
As the Education Coordinator for the volunteer-led organisation Black and Irish, Briana is bringing Anti-Bias and Anti-Racism (ABAR) training to school staff across the country while also lobbying to make the national curriculum more inclusive for all students. She is currently working with several organisations in both the public and private sector towards the goal of creating a positive experience for People of the Global Majority in all areas of Irish society.
Veronica Victor
Veronica Victor is a white American settled queer trans woman living in rural County Wexford for six years. She is currently on the committee of Wexford Pride and facilitator of the LGBTQIA+ Community Support Group in Enniscorthy as well as TransWaterford, an adult trans support group in Waterford. She is currently a therapist in training at PCI College.
Claire Briana
Black and Irish is an organization that is here to highlight and celebrate the identity of Black and Mixed-Race Irish people. We aim to spread awareness around the world of the experiences, struggles, and successes from within our community. Our mission is to engage with the wider Irish society, to come together, to celebrate our Black and Mixed-Race Irish identity, and to spread awareness by telling our stories.
Briana Fitzsimons – Teacher and Education Coordinator, Black & Irish
Briana grew up in Yonkers, NY and has lived in Ireland with her family since 2017. She holds a BA and MSc in English and Creative Writing, as well as teaching degrees in English and Special Education and is passionate about Social Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. She currently works as a secondary school teacher in Naas, Co. Kildare.
As the Education Coordinator for the volunteer-led organisation Black and Irish, Briana is bringing Anti-Bias and Anti-Racism (ABAR) training to school staff across the country while also lobbying to make the national curriculum more inclusive for all students. She is currently working with several organisations in both the public and private sector towards the goal of creating a positive experience for People of the Global Majority in all areas of Irish society.
Dairiona Murphy
ARCs bio
ARC is a grassroots all-volunteer organisation dedicated to achieving free, safe, legal and local abortion everywhere on the island of Ireland, for everyone who wants or needs it. ARC challenges abortion stigma and recognises that many people, including girls, women, transgender people and non-binary people, can become pregnant and need an abortion. ARC was one of the three core groups that formed the civil society organisation Together for Yes, which successfully campaigned for a Yes vote in the referendum to repeal the 8th Amendment of the Irish constitution in May 2018.
We advocate for free, safe, legal and local abortion care. Research shows that free, safe, legal and local access to abortion care is the only model that supports meaningful choice in pregnancy-related healthcare and supports the human rights of the pregnant person. Abortion legislation must centre the pregnant person’s right to bodily autonomy and integrity, without avoidable barriers or impediments to care provision. When we advocate for free, safe, legal and local care, we are advocating for accessible care without financial or geographic barriers, without the threat of criminalisation, and without medically unnecessary restrictions
My Bio:
Darina joined ARC in 2017, initially she joined the fundraising working group and then become the fundraising rep. In 2018 she was one of ARC’s representative at the beginning of TFY fundraising meetings and volunteered in HQ on the fundraising and events team. Post referendum Darina continued her volunteer work with ARC and in November 2021 became a co-convener.
Mary Connors
A mother of five, Mary only received 18 months of formal education when she was a child, enough for her to learn how to read and write. She returned to education at the age of 46 when she started a three-year diploma course in Maynooth University in Youth and Community Work, then returned to further education as a role model for the Traveller community
The National Traveller Womens Forum (NTWF) was founded in 1988 with the aims of:
“advancing Traveller women’s rights, human rights, equality, cultural recognition, solidarity, liberation, collective action, anti-sexism, anti-racism (and) self-determination”
Mary won a Lifetime Achievement Award for her varied and ongoing work with the Traveller community.