The Irish Latin American Connection

Broadcasting Monday 6th, 13th, 20th and 27th of March @ 2pm

The Irish Latin American Connection is a 4 part series of programmes that looks at the experiences of Irish people who have in the recent past lived and campaigned for causes in Latin America. We will examine their motives for travelling, their contribution to the countries they lived in and how these experiences have shaped their lives and careers back in Ireland. And while doing this, we will touch on some global issues affecting Ireland, Europe and Latin America.

Programme 1: The Time Forgotten, Chiapas

This programme tells the story of Nick Jones, a 45 years old Dubliner who lived in Chiapas, Mexico at the end of the 1990s for two years, and also spent six months in Ecuador in 2002. It looks at indigenous identity in a global context and we meet Karen Jeffares, a human rights activist who has worked in Latin America for almost five years. We also meet Sinead McGrath, who lectures on the Migration and Development module on Maynooth University.

Programme 2: Food, What’s on the menu? …And what is the price?

In Programme 2, we will be looking at the experience of food producers, Emanuela Russo and Fergal Anderson, who moved to county Galway, Ireland in September 2011 to start a small vegetable farm.

We are also joined by Karen Jeffares (Peace Brigades International), Hilary Daly from Trocaire and Maeve Bateman from Debt and Development Coalition to discuss how important is to act locally for global change.

Programme 3: “The Cause of Justice, the cause of love”, Nicaragua

In programme 3 we meet Robert Navan and Molly O’Duffy, two of the Irish Brigade that travelled to Nicaragua in the 1980s to support the Sandinista revolution. We will hear an insert from Rita Fagan, a Dublin community development worker who travelled on five occasions to Nicaragua from 1989. We also meet Dr Barry Cannon, formerly Irish Research Council ‘Cara’ Fellow, specializes in democratization and development, particularly in conflict areas in the Latin America region. Chris O’Connell is a PhD student, educator and activist who spent many years living, working, volunteering and carrying out research in Latin America

Programme 4: The Irish in Solidarity, Casement and Human Rights

We will explore the strong humanitarian tradition of the Irish who travelled to Latin America.We hear about Roger Casement and his humanitarian work in Peru and for which he is considered “father of twentieth-century human rights investigations” with the help of Angus Mitchell is a historian and cultural critic who has spent the last twenty years investigating the life and legacy of Casement. . We are joined around the table by Sean O’Connell and Lynda Sullivan. Sean graduated from UCD in 2010 with a degree in Law and later completed a Masters in Human Rights Law from the University of Nottingham. Sean volunteered on the Nicaragua 2010 project and returned as a Team Leader in 2012 and 2013. Sean held the position of UCD Volunteers O Programme Assistant in 2012/2013 and joined the Board at the end of 2013, and Lynda O’Sullivan, a human rights activist from Belfast, who was involved in this peasant struggle in Celendin, Peru against Yanacocha a most powerful gold mining companies.

Credits

Produced and edited by Sally Galiana. Narrated by Mary McNamara. Our special thanks to Ámal Abordán, Education Coordinator and Office Manager of the Latin American Solidarity Centre (LASC) and Irish Aid for their support.