Sin Scéal Eile

At just 20 years old, Cork native Lavie Olupona is no stranger to the spotlight. Through her work as a spoken word poet she has performed at Electric Picnic and Misléor. Today, I met Lavie in her local park in Clonakilty, Cork, where she wanted to show me a very special bench. It’s a bench that is dedicated to her grandfather Michael Foley, commissioned by her Mam, aunty and grandmother. Lavie’s Mam, Mary, sadly passed away from cancer in February this year, but left Lavie with plenty to remind her of her presence.  “My mam was actually a poet as well. She left a journal with all that she wanted and letters to us. She had everything prepared. Every day I see little signs around me that let me know she’s here. I saw a feather on my way to meet you today, and she said she'd come back as a crow with a fag in her mouth. She had a very specific humour, very dark but hilarious.” Lavie’s Mam was a proud Irish Traveller and instilled that sense of pride and heritage in her daughter. “I'm very honoured that my Nana passed down a lot of stories from her life to me and my Mam. I try to incorporate that in my poetry where possible. And my Mam was a very proud Traveller woman, so I try to carry the culture and history with me and honour her that way.”While Lavie’s Mam is Irish, her Dad is Nigerian, which is a beautifully unique mix. “A lot of people tell me it's really interesting or that it’s like I have two identities. But for me, I think it's one together, combined, that's just how I was raised.”

Donncha is a dark horse. He’s been a dairy farmer all his life (as was his father, and his father’s father). He dotes on his herd and loves to see them so calm and curious and you can easily tell that they dote on him too, they crowd around him to take a photo together. But Donncha is a man of many talents, not just milking. He’s tread the boards of local stages and even tried his hand at salsa dancing. Like most farmers, Donncha works relentlessly on the farm, rarely taking holidays, worrying about diseases and never giving much thought to retirement (much to his wife, Teresa’s disappointment).

Valerie is a busy woman. She’s a single Mam to three kids from ages 28 down to four (one with additional needs), she works as a lecturer in TUS and is also studying for her PHD. Valerie is tasked with finding out what kids need in order to thrive in education. She recognises that not everyone learns in the same way, but that everyone deserves the chance to excel.

I met Richard in a scout den, which made no sense at first but becomes clear once we chat. He’s an academic, a researcher and a geographer. He’s fascinated with holy wells, pilgrimages and how the spaces we inhabit affect us (and how we in turn affect the spaces).xR

Sahar is young, free and very much in love, not just with her boyfriend, but with life, the music scene and Cork! Originally from New Delhi, life in Cork can be quite different at times from what she’s used to, but she’s acclimatising well and her family come to visit. The first thing she did when she moved over was throw herself into the indie scene and snap up Arctic Monkeys tickets, something she’s been dreaming of doing since she was a teenager. xR

Anna had a revelation later in life thanks to amazing doctors in her local menopause clinic. Her kids were on their way to being raised and she just wasn’t feeling right. She hopped on the HRT and credits that for the freedom she found to follow her dream of becoming an artist. She now makes these beautiful thread creations from her home studio. Rx

Eleanor is a beautiful soul with a huge heart and the best of intentions. Through her work in the trans community in Limerick, she regularly offers peer support to others who are following a similar journey to her own. Eleanor describes Limerick as having a great artistic, queer community that she’s very proud to be a part of. Together we chat about family acceptance, trans healthcare in Ireland (or lack of it) and just living a happy, normal life. xR

Shane is not what I expected at all. He was nominated by his wife Kate who told me that Shane is an Ultra Cyclist who does 2,500kms with not a bother on him. Obviously I turned up expecting to see a man in lycra who wants to chat about bikes. What I got was a man with many thrash metal t-shirts, who told me lots of hilarious stories, like when he was 20mins away from death and how he made friends with the priest who tried (and failed) to give him his last rites. Oh and he has the best laugh I’ve ever heard. Rx