In episode number 13 of ONE Conversation, The Making of an Activist, Fiona Dunne talks to Clement Shevlin, an organiser with SIPTU, a member of the ONE Galway initiative and a community activist in Claregalway where he currently lives. They talk about the power of activism, particularly in the community, his motivation to make change locally and how he ended up working for the biggest trade union in the country.
The conversation begins with Clem reflecting on his early years in his native town of Belmullet, in Co. Mayo and talks about the closeness of the community, something which he remembers as an organic feature of how people lived, always looking out for each other and becoming, as he describes it, “super heroes” in the town by espousing solidarity and displaying a real sense of community spirit. He talks at length about the local priest, his original inspiration, and goes on to detail how, outside of his remit as a priest, he rallied the community into working together to establish a community centre. But most importantly were the lessons Clem learned during this period, from understanding the importance of his own contribution to his community to realising that “the key to activism is making the activist feel like they own it”, something which he refers to again and again throughout the conversation and which he embeds into his own work today.
Coming from a rural community, Clem inevitably discusses emigration and bringing the sense of community to the cities of London and Boston, in which he lived and worked for many years, before resettling back in Ireland in County Galway. With a renewed sense of purpose, he engaged locally to create a real community or his own children and strives to improve the space they are in to ensure they have a better quality of life. Clem admits he’s building community all the time, but acknowledges that whilst not everyone will help, he focusses on those who are willing to engage which although small in number are large in effect. The conversation moves on to discuss worker empowerment, the power of the group, union training and how these tools help you make real change. He shares some nuggets of wisdom about his union activism (listen carefully) recounting experiences from SIPTU’s Big Start campaign in which he has been a key player from the beginning, likening this work to creating a family within childcare, watching out for each other and working to improve their conditions which has resulted in negotiations on a JLC (he does explain this) which is a big deal.
As you listen you will hear his passion for what he is doing now that “he has found a home for himself”, empowering workers to speak up for themselves, engaging with local politicians to better understand workers’ experiences in order to make change and explaining the importance of research to any campaign, from Big Start to the successful ONE Galway tipping campaign which has been credited with changing some practices in hospitality, particularly around Galway. If you are unsure about what real activism is then listen to this great conversation with someone who is a natural born activist, who encourages, engages and motivates people across the country to make change. You will not only be inspired but determined to make a difference wherever you are.
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