Pavee Point very much welcomes the re-appointment of Traveller woman Dr. Rosaleen McDonagh as a commissioner to the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission.
Rosaleen is a Traveller woman with a disability and a playwright and author as well as activist and has brought a wealth of experience and analysis to her work with the Commission.
In her role, she has led engagement on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) as chair of IHREC’s Disability Advisory Committee
Rosaleen was one of the founders of The Independent Living Movement and has a Traveller feminist and disability analysis on gender issues.
Rosaleen worked on gender based violence for over ten years with Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre. “My work in Pavee Point gave me a tremendous understanding of criss cross issues as well as the intersectional corners to our lives,” said Rosaleen.
In the arts, Rosaleen has called out racism both on and off the stage. She has continuously called for an intersectional approach and direct participation, inclusion and diversity in the arts that goes beyond gender. Rosaleen is also a member of the board of The Arts Council.
The other newly appointed commissioners are:
- Sam Blanckensee, Equality Officer at Maynooth University
- Cathryn Costello, professor of Global Refugee and Migration Law at University College Dublin
- Adam Harris, CEO of AsIAm, Ireland’s Autism charity
- Patricia Munatsi, human rights lawyer
- Rose Wall, solicitor and a founder of Ireland’s Centre for Environmental Justice
*All appointments will go before both houses of the Oireachtas before appointment by the President.