Leon Diop is a 28-year-old mixed-race man from Dublin, Ireland. Born to an Irish mother and a Senegalese father, he grew up in a mixed ethnic and religious household. He is the founder of Black and Irish, an organisation striving to transform Ireland into a global leader in equality and inclusion. He is a host of the Black and Irish podcast with Irish national broadcaster, RTÉ. Briana Fitzsimons grew up in Yonkers, NY, USA, and has lived in Ireland since 2017. She has been a teacher for 12 years and also holds degrees in English and Creative Writing. Briana joined the Black and Irish team in 2021 and has been working to make schools across the country more inclusive for all students. She lives in Co Kildare with her partner and two children and is proud to call Ireland home. Jessica Louis is an independent illustrator from Nigeria, whose work features bright colorful characters, shapes and scenes that speak to the emotions at the edges and in the core of our lived experience. She has exhibited with DesignOpp in Dublin, Fresco in Paris and published in Totally Dublin. She’s represented by Studio BLVCK and together they paving a new path for independent black creatives across the world.

Contents

Introduction page 8

Fig O’Reilly page 13

Elliot Kwelele page 21

Ruth Negga page 27

Paul McGrath page 33

Christine Buckley page 39

Dr Monica Peres Oikeh page 45

Boidu Sayeh page 51

Beryl Ohas page 57

Gavin Bazunu page 63

Emma Dabiri page 69

Dr Phil Mullen page 77

Monjola page 83

Ola Majekodunmi page 91

Manni the Barber page 97

Mamobo Ogoro page 103

Phil Lynott page 111

Blessing Dada page 117

Lawson Mpame page 123

Yemi Adenuga page 129

Patrick Martins page 137

Rhasidat Adeleke page 143

Jude Hughes page 149

Emer O’Neill page 155

Dr Ebun Joseph page 163

Dami Hope page 167

Acknowledgements page 172